The Great Alberta Ghost Caper!
by Tarma Hartley
Summary: Ontario has been acting up lately and all the provinces are fed up with his antics, even his Dad Matthew. Alberta decides that big brother needs a lesson in humility and hatches a plan to get even on Halloween night at the very spooky Frank Slide site. T
1. Halloween Plots

_All provinces, except Alberta and Ontario, used were created by ctcSherry; the voices are from their respective voice actors/actresses and appear on YouTube in "Canada Eh?" videos.  
The characters of Alberta and Ontario I use in this fic [physical appearance and personalities] are by Nanihoo and are used with permission! Thanks!  
All of the province's reactions and modes of thought are fictional and any relation to any actual province is entirely coincidental. Sort of_. :D  
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_Ontario has been acting up lately and all the provinces are fed up with his antics. Alberta decides that big brother needs a lesson in humility and hatches a plan to get even on Halloween night at the very spooky Frank Slide site.  
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_

My first ever fic starring with the provinces of Canada and with appearances by Matthew! This is for the October assignment in the "IAMMATTHEWIAN" club on dA and the first chapter of three. It's not scary, really, just silly and ridiculously funny. :D

I took the art designs for the provinces that were created by ctcSherry and their way of thought down to a sound bite from voice actor/actress auditions-the voices that were chosen to represent the characters-on the "Canada, Eh!" vids on YouTube [which are side splittingly _hilarious_!] and a _LOT_ of poetic license taken by me! There are many interpretations; this is mine. :) Also, the designation of "older/middle/younger brother/sister" comes from the date when each province came into Confederation. Since this also set in Canada and is, in essence, a Canada-centric fic, I'm using the appropriate Canadian spellings of words. :)

**Thanks** to my readers and all those who have favourited, reviewed, story alerted, favourite author or author alerted me. I appreciate it more than I can say! :)

**Special thanks** to my beloved husband, DezoPenguin, for all his help, support, advice, nagging (when necessary) and encouragement! I appreciate it more than I can say! Love you!  
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This fic is dedicated to Nanihoo, with grateful thanks! Hope you enjoy this and thank you _very_ much for allowing me to use your Alberta and Ontario characters! Much appreciated! :)  
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Any and all comments will be appreciated and are enthusiastically welcomed! :)

Hetalia Axis Powers, Teen, AU

Also posted to dA.

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_October 29th  
Backyard of Matthew's Residence  
10 P.M._

_He watched them from his place in the shadows, his heart racing with excitement as he watched them play. A wolfish grin spread out over his face; they had no idea that he was even here watching them and that was all to the good. After all, what Halloween prank ever goes off smoothly when the ones who are to be pranked know that its coming? Surprise, he had discovered, was the best offence!_

_The young girl and boy, accompanied by their loyal canine companion, played happily in the sandbox, trilling gaily as the young boy, Newfoundland, was particularly successful in making one of the best sand castles that his female companion, Nunavut, found particularly impressive. All the while the children were blissfully unaware that he was even there, watching them silently from his shadowy corner._

This _is what he lived for every Halloween: the opportunity to play his annual prank on his brothers and sisters. Truthfully, he enjoyed it much more than his victims did and he didn't know that at least two of them, Alberta and Manitoba, were actively plotting their revenge. He_ did _know, however, that neither of them had appreciated his last prank and, until this one, he had considered to be his best_ **ever**!

_He preened as he remembered the set-up: Alberta had gotten in a shipment of cattle and, instead of going to the ranch as they normally did, he'd managed to circumvent them to the Vancouver Aquarium in Vancouver, British Columbia. Alberta nearly had heart failure when her cattle shipment failed to arrive and watching her scramble about, tearing at her hair and melting down was the_ best _entertainment he'd had in over one hundred years!_

_Of course, when Dad found out about it, as he always did although he wasn't exactly sure how, he_ wasn't _at all amused over his cleverness; in fact, Dad had made him confess to Alberta what he'd done and apologize to his sister, much to his chagrin. He hadn't wanted to since he really wasn't at all sorry he'd done it-he felt that she deserved it for putting that itching powder in his bath salts three weeks earlier-but, when Dad gave him_ that _look, he hastened to apologize._

To add insult to injury, as far as he was concerned, Dad had also made him accompany Alberta to go and pick up her cattle; after he was able to sit down again a week or so later, he discovered that riding a horse for a thousand miles or so driving cattle really/i wasn't _his idea of fun._

"Can't you two even try to get along?" _Matthew, his Dad, had asked them both, exasperation evident in his tone as he stood there looking at them, his arms crossed over his chest, his violet eyes narrowed into narrow slits that seemed to be enhanced by his glasses which were perched on the bridge of his nose._ "Honestly, you'd think that the two of you just came out of the Stone Age!"

_Alberta couldn't help herself; a nervous titter escaped her before she had a chance to stop it, quailing under the hard look that Matthew gave her. Her brother looked smug; for once, the favoured child was in the doghouse! And_ he _had been the one to put_ her _there!_

It's about time I finally got one up on her!

_Matthew, who'd noticed the smug expression plastering itself all over his eldest son's face, turned his baleful look from Alberta to Ontario who looked defiant for a few minutes before he lowered his head, shuffling his feet nervously, his hands clutched together behind his back._ "And _you_, Ontario! For heaven's sake, _you're_ the oldest; _you_ should know better!" _Matthew continued on it that vein for some time, his anger growing with each passing moment. He stopped for a few minutes, taking many deep breaths as he tried to get himself under some kind of conscious control before he continued._

_Ontario gulped; he'd_ never _seen his Dad_ this _angry before and, at that moment, he knew that he'd crossed a line with this prank. When Ontario dared to sneak a peek at Alberta, the answering tight and angry expression on his younger sister's face told him that_ she _agreed one hundred percent with that sentiment, her crossed arms over her chest which definitely boded trouble for him later. His younger sister_ wasn't _known for letting slights lie;_ she _got_ even _in_ very _creative and unique ways..._

_Ontario was afraid of Alberta. With good reason. She, besides British Columbia, was a wild one who had her own ways and own ideas about things and how they should be done. He'd tried, on many an occasion, to try to get her to see sense and give up some of her wilder behaviours but it was like speaking to a proverbial stone wall; she refused to listen._

Typical sisterly conduct, _he thought to himself with disgust as he continued to watch Newfoundland, Nunavut and Labrador play,_ she _always_ was a wild one! _He snorted._ No matter how many times I tried to teach her some manners, she always, always ignored it and did it _her_ way! Otherwise known as the wrong way! You'd think that she would be grateful to have an older brother looking out for her!

_He shook his head, rolling his eyes up at the sky, his mouth twisted in a sour grimace and sighing deeply. _She _never_ appreciates my efforts and _always_ tells me to-what was the phrase she used again...? Oh yes. "_Stuff it!_"- whenever_ I _try to help _her _improve herself! And Dad tells _me_ to try and get along with _her_? He should be telling her to try and get along with me! It's not my fault that _she_ has _no_ fashion sense, any notion of common courtesy and definitely _no_ love for order! Sisters are such a pain!

_At that moment, Nunavut lifted her head slightly at the muffled sound she heard coming from the dark corner, her dark, perplexed eyes looking around the backyard with confusion, peering hard into the darkness. Ontario flattened himself against the back wall, melting into the shadows, his heart beating wildly and cursing softly._

_He shouldn't have snorted like he did; he had forgotten just how the sound carried here which was why Dad liked the kids to play here when they were in the outdoors; it was much easier to keep an eye on them this way rather than having them out of sight and, presumably, getting into trouble when Dad's back was turned._

_He admitted that this wasn't an entirely fair observation; Nunavut was a good kid and kept to herself for the most part although, for some reason he couldn't entirely fathom, she liked hanging out with Newfoundland who could be a handful more often than not._

_Newfoundland looked up from the moat he was making for his sand castle, his blue eyes looking at his sister quizzically, his hands spattered with wet mud._

"What's wrong, Noonie?"_ he asked, his tone concerned from the very puzzled look on her face._

"I... I thought that I heard something,_" she replied, her high childish voice trilling out sweetly, tinged __with bewilderment, looking around her uncertainly._

"Where?"

_Nunavut pointed to the dark corner.  
_  
"Over there."

_Newfoundland cocked his head, listening hard but he could hear nothing in the darkness except the soft trilling of the grasshoppers._

"I don't hear anything," _he replied after a few moment's silence, his brow creased in concentration. He turned to his canine companion who stood stock still in the darkness. _"Did you see anything?"

_Nunavut shook her head. _"I don't see anything."_ She cocked her head slightly to the right, listening hard. _"I don't hear anything, either."

_Newfoundland was silent for a few moments before he nodded, his hands already beginning to work the wet sand between his fingers once more before he had been interrupted._

"I wouldn't worry about it, Noonie," _he said reasonably, packing the wet sand into the sand pail that sat next to him, _"it was probably just a passing bird or something. Besides-" _he added, pointing to the snoozing male Labrador Retriever sleeping next to him-_"if there had been something there, Labby would have let us know."_  
_  
"Probably," _Nunavut agreed, digging in the sand once more and, before long, both children were hard at work again, their scare forgotten._

_The dog, who up until this moment had been quietly napping, lifted his head and rose stiffly to his feet and stretching. He whined softly, scratching the ground with his paw before wandering over to Nunavut and sitting down beside her, scratching his ear with his hind foot before curling into a ball._

_Shrugging, both Nunavut and Newfoundland went back to their play, Ontario breathing a huge sigh of relief. That had been too close; he needed to remain perfectly still if he was going to pull this off. He waited awhile longer, the children unaware of his presence as they continued to add to the sandcastle, Labrador sitting beside them, keeping an eye on both the surroundings and the kids._

_Ontario took another look at his watch. It was now 10 P.M. And time for him to put his prank into action. He figured that the children had relaxed long enough to put all thoughts of that odd noise out of their minds which meant that his appearance would be quite a surprise to both of them. He giggled softly to himself; he couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when he popped out at them!_

_He took the gargoyle mask from out of his pocket and put it over his head, pulling it down snugly over his neck. He checked his watch one more time before taking a deep breath and jumping out of the shadows, yelling and making weird, gargling noises._

_The result was even better than he could have hoped for. Both Nunavut and Newfoundland leaped up from the ground, their eyes wide with fear as they clung together, screaming at the top of their lungs. Labrador was barking crazily and racing around in circles, torn between a desire to protect the kids __and bite the intruder on one hand and to run away on the other. In the end, all three chose to run, scrambling comically up from the ground and tearing off toward the house, stumbling and falling a few times in their mad flight._

_Once the kids were out of sight and their screams were fading into the night, Ontario sauntered over to the side of the house, pleased as punch with the way the prank had gone off. He imagined that Dad wouldn't be too happy when he learned of this newest escapade but, at this point in time, he really didn't care. He'd pulled off the prank perfectly; everything had gone according to plan without the slightest hitch._

_Ontario, he said to himself, a wide smirk on his face as he pulled off his mask, you are, without a doubt, a genius!_

_He whistled a merry tune as he walked into the house from the back door entrance, a wide grin plastered over his face. He couldn't wait to see the kids' faces when he walked in the house and hear the story of a thing that had jumped out at them from the darkness._

_He'd certainly made _his _pre-Halloween much more interesting!  
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**_

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_October 29th  
10:30 P.M._  
_Living room_

Nunavut and Newfoundland raced into the living room, screaming hysterically, followed closely by Labrador who was whining and barking in tandem, putting up an unholy din as they tumbled in through the arch that separated the living room from the kitchen area.

Alberta was sitting in the overstuffed chair in the corner by the window reading a book when all hell broke loose. Startled, she jumped up, tossing the book aside, her heart literally in her throat as she saw the kids come tumbling in, screaming at the tops of their lungs, their eyes wide with fear.

They raced toward her and she opened up her arms and scooped them up, holding them close to her while she trilled soft words of comfort. That they had one heck of a scare was obvious; what had caused it was something else all together. She noted, with some interest, that Labrador was just as scared as the children, the dog whining and woofing as he rubbed his side against her leg, his eyes rolling with fear.  
_  
What on earth happened here? _she thought, biting her lip as she continued to comfort the badly scared children and dog. _What did they see that scared them so badly?  
_  
She held them for some time before she put them down and, wrapping one arm around the kids while putting her free hand on Labrador's back, giving him soft, gentle strokes from neck to tail and back. It took awhile but she finally got the kids, and dog, calmed down. She waited a few minutes more before she spoke.

"Are you all right?" she asked the children and both Nunavut and Newfoundland nodded uncertainly, still clinging to her although they were much calmer than they had been when they'd first raced into the living room. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Nunavut nodded shakily while Newfoundland still looked like he was in a state of shock.

"We... we were playing in the sandbox," she began, her voice trembling a little as she recounted their tale, "and we were building a sandcastle. Newfoundland was making... making the-the m-moat when I heard a w-w-weird noise!"

"Where did it come from, Noonie?" Alberta asked gently, holding the child close to her chest.

"W-what...?"

"I mean, what direction did it come from?" To Nunavut's stare of incomprehension, she added quickly, "Did it come from the house or from the street outside? Was it close to the sandbox or was it further away?"_  
_  
Nunavut's face brightened a little as she understood the question Alberta was asking.

"It... it came from the side of the house overlooking the backyard w-where the sandbox i-is," she replied, biting her lip.

Alberta nodded; she knew _which _side of the house the girl was talking about. The children often played there under Dad's watchful eye and it was conveniently located so that they were never out of sight as long as they were in the sandbox and swing set. She also knew that it was a place where, at night, was mostly hidden in shadow. The_ perfect_ place to hide if you were trying to scare a couple of kids...  
_  
And I know just who would do something like that, _she thought savagely, gritting her teeth_. Damn Ontario's hide! What the hell was he trying to prove scaring them like that? _She grunted in disgust._ He's got some nerve! And to little kids, no less!_

"Abby?" she heard a soft voice break in and she looked down to see both Nunavut and Newfoundland looking at her, each sporting identical puzzled looks on their faces. "Are you-you.. o-o-okay? You have such an... odd... expression on y-y-y-y-your f-face..."

Alberta smiled, setting the two children at ease once more.

"I was just thinking, Noonie," she replied airily, nuzzling Nunavut's cheek with the tip of her nose which made the small child giggle in delight, relaxing her even further. "That's all." She smiled again. "You know, I was just thinking that a snack would be perfect right now, say, my special chocolate cherry sundae. Would you like that?"

"Yes!" both children answered in unison, their faces glowing with undisguised happiness.

Alberta put the children on the ground and stood up, stretching slightly as she did so. She looked down at them and extended both of her hands, Nunavut and Newfoundland each taking one in their own.

"Come on," she said brightly as she started walking toward the kitchen, "let's make those sundaes."

The children's crows of delight echoed throughout the house as they made their way toward the kitchen. Alberta looked toward the window and thought she saw a pair of eyes glowering at her from the dark corner; she blinked once, trying to get a better look but, when she looked in that direction again, there wasn't anything there.

She wondered briefly if she'd imagined that pair of baleful eyes but then shrugged; it didn't concern her one way or the other but she couldn't help casting another furtive glance at the corner again just to make sure what she thought she had seen had actually been there._  
_  
She got out the ingredients for the sundae, put them on the floating island in the kitchen and helped both Nunavut and Newfoundland up into the bar stools that were at the breakfast nook in the kitchen. She loved this part of the house; she could cook to her heart's delight and watch the beautiful scenery unfolding through the big picture window over the sink.

The children crowed as they watched her make the sundaes, practically snatching the dessert spoons she held out to them and dug in enthusiastically when she put the treat down before them. She didn't have time to put a bib on either of them but seeing them so happy after their nasty scare erased an annoyance this would normally have caused, watching them with undisguised amusement as they devoured the ice cream treat with enjoyment.

Alberta's expression softened as she watched them eat, a soft, proud smile on her face. Even though she and her youngest siblings didn't always get along, they were her blood and bone, too, and she wouldn't stand for anyone deliberately scaring them. In her mind, it was cruel and mean and she knew, without a doubt, just_ who _the perpetrator of this particular prank _was... _her big brother, Ontario._  
_  
Her eyes narrowed._ You've gone way too far this time, brother, s_he thought, getting up from the breakfast nook and retrieving a damp cloth from the kitchen to wipe the children's chocolate smeared faces._ Scaring little kids like that is_ really_ low, even for _you_!_

She greeted her brother stiffly when he sauntered into the kitchen, the last remnants of the sundaes little spots of chocolate sauce on the sides of the sundae dishes, washing the faces of Nunavut and Newfoundland with gentle strokes. She smiled at them as they bounced off of the bar stools, bounded over to her and jumped into her arms, each of them planting chocolate ice cream kisses on her cheeks before they disappeared into the living room to play with their building blocks.

Ontario watched them leave and Alberta didn't miss that smug, satisfied look that had plastered itself all over his face. She knew _that _look well; she'd seen it on his face when she found out that her cattle shipment had been inexplicably rerouted to Vancouver, British Columbia and watched the resulting firestorm with undisguised glee.

_Yes, my dear brother, you've gone _too _far this time... and I have the _perfect _way of getting even with you. _She glanced out of the corner of her eye as Ontario went to the cupboard, opened it, took out a mug and opened the refrigerator door, rooting around inside until he found the carton of orange juice.  
_  
_She watched as he took the carton out of the fridge, twisted off the cap and put it on the counter top and poured himself a glass, putting the cap back on the carton and putting it back. He picked up the glass, brought it to his lips and took a large swallow; a puzzled look came over his face in mid-swallow as he became aware that Alberta was watching him and he nearly choked trying to swallow over the lump in his throat._ Besides, I still owe you one for the cattle fiasco even though watching you having to ride a horse for a thousand miles behind ten thousand head of cattle was pretty satisfying, I must admit. Still, you deserve a little payback for this latest scam and I have the perfect way of doing it._

"What?" he asked testily, grabbing a napkin from the napkin holder to blot up the orange juice that had spilled on his vest. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

She smiled wolfishly at her brother who looked startled and then uneasy.

"Nothing," she replied jauntily, smiling her most dazzling smile at her brother. "I'm in a good mood, that's all."_  
_  
Ontario opened his mouth as if he were about to say something but thought better of it, snapping his mouth shut as he quickly exited the kitchen, throwing a nervous glance over his shoulder at her as he did so.  
_  
Yes, dear brother, you're about to get a little of what you dish out... and I can't wait to see the look on your face when this all comes together!  
_  
Alberta whistled a happy tune as she cleaned up the breakfast nook, thoughts of sweet, sweet revenge dancing in her head. She'd see to it that Ontario would be taught a lesson that he'd never forget... and she knew just which of her siblings she could go to for help. The thought of what she was planning put a spring in her step and a song in her all this time, her big brother was going to get _exactly_ what he deserved!

With a final look at the kitchen, she tossed the soiled cloth into the hamper by the sink, noting with satisfaction that the marble top table fairly gleamed in the dim, overhead light. She prided herself on being a master of the culinary arts and there was nothing she enjoyed more, besides being out on the range with her cattle, than cooking and baking.

Alberta smiled again, a wide grin spreading over her face.

_Revenge is indeed sweet and I can't wait to see the look on his face when we pull this prank on him! _She giggled as she walked toward the door, flipping the electrical switch off and plunging the breakfast nook into darkness as she exited the kitchen, closing the door firmly behind her as she left. _He's going to be_ so _surprised!_


	2. Big Brother Is Being A Big Jerk!

_All provinces, except Alberta and Ontario, used were created by ctcSherry; the voices are from their respective voice actors/actresses and appear on YouTube in "Canada Eh!" videos._

_The characters of Alberta and Ontario I use in this fic [physical appearance and personalities] are by Nanihoo and are used with permission! Thanks!_

_All of the province's reactions and modes of thought are fictional and any relation to any actual province is entirely coincidental. Sort of. :D_

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_Ontario has pushed his luck _too _far when he pranks both British Columbia and Saskatchewan. The siblings agree that big brother needs to be taught a lesson and Alberta has the _perfect _prank in mind..._

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**Warning: LONG chapter ahead!**

Chapter 2! :^) Ontario's really acting like a jerk, isn't he? Well, that's why he has siblings to keep his pranking to a minimum! :D Ah, siblings...

"Scissorbill," in case you're wondering, is rural Alberta slang for "politician." I was born and grew up in Alberta and I've always thought the term to be a most amusing one... :D Also, I never could _quite_ get the knack in my childhood days for making a sound by blowing on a blade of grass between your thumbs although many of my friends _could_, which always impressed me.

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Thanks** to my readers and all those who have favourited, reviewed, story alerted, favourite author or author alerted me. I appreciate it more than I can say! :)

**Special thanks** to my beloved husband, DezoPenguin, for all his help, support, advice, nagging (when necessary) and encouragement! I appreciate it more than I can say! Love you!

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This fic is dedicated to Nanihoo, with grateful thanks! Hope you enjoy this and thank you _very_ much for allowing me to use your Alberta and Ontario characters! Much appreciated! :)

As always, any and all comments and suggestions are welcomed and gratefully appreciated!

Hetalia-Axis Powers, Canada, Humour/Supernatural, Teen, AU

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_October 30th  
Matthew's Residence, Back Yard Fire Pit  
9 P.M._

The siblings were enjoying a barbeque in Dad's back yard, complete with a deeply dug fire pit and plenty of room to host a large gathering, the smoky smell of beef, chicken and pork wafting through the crisp, autumn air. Nova Scotia was manning the barbeque, deftly turning the different cuts of meat as they cooked, releasing a delicious aroma into the air that all the provinces, despite their many and lingering differences, found mouth-watering and even more so when he slapped on generous portions of barbeque sauce. The smells coming from the fire pit were simply mouth-wateringly scrumptious and more than one of the provinces lifted their heads, breathing in deeply and sighing in anticipation of the good feast to come. He had, as the delicious smells wafting through the air eloquently proved, learned the art well from his siblings, Alberta and Saskatchewan, and everyone would soon reap the rich and tasty rewards of their teaching.

There were tables everywhere laden with different things, along with chairs and blankets for those who wished to sit on the ground. Three long tables had been pushed together and covered with a lovely checkered tablecloth in the middle of the back yard which held the various condiments, numerous kinds of chips, dips and cans of pop along with salads of every description, plastic cutlery, paper plates, buns and four large pitchers of lemonade. It was _quite _an impressive spread, to say the least, and the provinces were enjoying this repast _very_ much, indeed.

Laughter and chatter rang out from every direction as the siblings talked, joked and needled one another. It had been _far _too long since some of the siblings had seen or talked to one another and this was the perfect chance for them to get together, to enjoy great food, to call on Matthew who enjoyed their visits and to catch up on their lives. It _would_ have been perfect, Alberta reflected, staring dreamily over the top of her book as she sat on a thick blanket on the ground near the fire pit, if it _wasn't_ for Ontario. It was truly amazing just how his presence could ruin a get together, even a family barbeque in their Dad's back yard.

"So there I was... out in the middle of the godforsaken wilds of Alberta and British Columbia with no food or water. It was a desperate situation and I was all alone with no one to help me out of this dire predicament..." Ontario's smooth voice began, waving his hands around in practiced circles in the air as he recounted his tale of survival in the wilds of Western Canada.

Nunavut and Newfoundland watched him with wide eyes, enraptured by his story while the rest of his siblings either tuned out or looked bored, Alberta _definitely_ being in the latter categoury. She _knew _the truth of _this _particular story that was he weaving because _she_ had been the one who had gone to get _him_. He'd gotten lost on the Alberta Prairies when he took a wrong turn on his trip to Milk River and refused to ask for directions that _would_ have put him on the right track. Why is it, she wondered, that men are _so _recalcitrant about asking for directions?

He'd panicked when he'd ended up in Athabasca and Alberta had to go and pick him up, chortling with glee all the way there; she'd had to pull over to the side of the road a few dozen times when she broke down laughing on the trip, her eyes tearing up so badly that she couldn't see the road.

She could _still _remember the panicked look on his face when she pulled onto the road that led to where Ontario was waiting and Alberta also remembered the look of profound relief on his face when he saw her coming that he quickly shielded with his usual arrogant smirk. She'd rolled her eyes as she leaned over and opened the passenger's side for him, throwing open the door with a smart shove, refusing to meet her gaze when she'd opened the door of her pick-up truck and clambering in without a word, slamming the door pointedly behind him.

_It was, as I recall, _quite _a pleasant drive home_, she thought with mirth, casting a smirk of her own in his direction that he pointedly ignored, _he never said a word the whole way and I was able to actually enjoy the drive for once without him being a nagging backseat driver! _She smiled nastily and then cast a furtive glance at her Dad who sat a few feet away from her, hoping that he didn't notice. _I guess there are some benefits to rescuing big brother; he hates it so much that he refuses to speak! I'll have to let the others in on this little secret; it's just _too _good to keep to myself! _

Nunavut and Newfoundland's twin "oooooh's" and "ahhh's" brought her back to reality with an unpleasant jolt and she buried her nose in the book she held in her hands in an effort to drown out Ontario which, as she well knew, was next to _impossible_ once he got going.

_At least the kids are amused,_ she noted with a sigh as she turned back to the page she'd been engrossed in, flipping the book with a smart twist so that the newly printed pages crackled, _so I suppose that there is _something _good in it after all_. She looked affectionately at Nunavut and Newfoundland as they sat on the ground before the fire pit in the backyard.

She loved them both dearly but, being young, they could be rather rambunctious at times, _especially _when older sister Alberta wanted nothing more than to sit in the corner, read a good book and tune out the rest of the world with a few hours of pleasant down time.

_Ah, well... they're good kids all in all and they seem to be enjoying this little outing so that's all to the good, as far as I'm concerned. _She cocked an eyebrow in Ontario's direction, the corners of her mouth twitching in disgust. _The only down side is _that _blowhard!_

"Then what happened, big brother?" she heard Nunavut ask, her voice one of admiration for her big brother. "Weren't you scared all alone out there by yourself?"

Newfoundland nodded. "Yeah... weren't you?"

Ontario scoffed, waving his hand in the air in lazy circles, a smug expression spreading over his face.

"Of course _not_, my dear siblings," he replied patiently, his voice oily smooth as he looked down on the enraptured child, her eyes as wide as saucers. "I'm _never_ afraid of _anything_!"

_Yes, you_ were, _you big liar! _Alberta made a face behind her book_. _He'd been bawling like a baby before she arrived and, even though he sought to cover it with his usual arrogance and aplomb, she'd noticed the red-rimmed eyes and the blotchy skin which were uncontroversial evidence that he _had _been crying prior to her arrival. And now _he_ was trying to convince Nunavut and Newfoundland both that he _wasn't _afraid of _anything_?

Alberta choked on her liqourice nibs over _that _one.

Ontario turned to look at her, a half-snarl twisting his lips as he did so. He'd heard her snort and knew exactly what _that _meant... and he _wasn't _at all happy to hear it. Not that she cared, really.

"Did you _say_ something, dear sister?" he asked tersely, giving Alberta a pointed look.

She batted her eyelashes at her brother, an innocent "Who, me?" look on her face that, as she well knew, irritated him to no end.

"Of course _not_, dear brother," she drawled lazily, waving her hand in slow circles in the air, "I wouldn't want to interrupt this... _tale_ … of _your _adventures on _my _home turf now, would I?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her Dad's eyebrow lift slightly at the venom in the honeyed words but he made no comment as he continued to pet Labrador who was lounging happily at his master's feet, squirming with canine delight.

Alberta felt her face getting hot but managed to recover when her older sister, British Columbia, came skating in on her roller blades to the backyard where Dad and the rest of the provinces were enjoying the cookout, hard driving rock music blaring in her ears from her iPod. Ontario rolled his eyes at her arrival and was promptly rewarded by BC sticking her tongue out at him; he turned away with an air of disgust, BC snickering loudly as she turned to greet Alberta.

"Hey, sis, how's it goin'?" she called, skating over to where Alberta stood and slapping her upraised palm with enthusiasm before throwing her arms around her and hugging her younger sister tightly.

"Not too shabby, B.," Alberta replied, her eyes greeting her sister affectionately as she returned the warm embrace. "You?"

British Columbia flopped down on the ground beside her, seating herself on the thick wool comforter that had been placed on the ground, placing the small pot that held a hemp plant that she carried around with her beside her. Alberta's eyebrow raised as she saw the plant but made no comment.

"Same old, same old," British Columbia replied with good humour, waving her hand in circles. "It's been kinda boring, actually. I was hoping to find some _excitement_ but..." Her eyes drifted over to Ontario who had resumed his tale of derring-do on the wild Alberta prairie, settled on him for a moment and then drifted back; Alberta saw the amusement in BC's eyes as she looked at her younger sister who was grinning wickedly.

"I see the old scissorbill is flapping his gums again," she remarked with a laugh as she reached behind her to grab a can of root beer, popping the top and taking a large swallow. "What's he on about _this_ time?"

"The usual," Alberta retorted, rolling her eyes upward, "the Great Canadian Chicken is recounting the revised version of his impromptu trip to Athabasca."

BC hooted with laughter, slapping her thigh with her hand while the other Provinces and Territories turned to look at her with puzzled expressions on their faces. BC didn't miss a beat; she waved enthusiastically at her siblings and they waved back, a little uncertainly while Dad looked _very _happy to see his elder daughter again after her prolonged absence.

After a few minutes, BC turned to Alberta who had, for the time being while she greeted her other siblings, buried herself in her book, nudging her gently to get her attention.

"How's Dad doing these days?"

"Much the same as always," Alberta replied, closing her book and putting it on the comforter beside her. She smiled mischievously at British Columbia. "Which is to say that he never changes."

BC chuckled. "Good ol' Dad!" she crowed, taking two more large gulps of her root beer. "You can always count on him to be himself in any given situation!"

Alberta laughed at BC's wicked grin over the silver top of the pop can.

"As always," she agreed with a sly smile, raising her own can of 7-UP and clinking it against BC's, pausing a moment while she took a large swallow.

"Which is a good thing if you ask me," BC replied pertly, taking another large swallow of root beer and greeting her brother Saskatchewan as he passed by, chewing on a single grain stalk. "It's nice to know that he's always there for you if you need him."

"Very true," Alberta agreed thoughtfully, her expression softening. "Very true."

BC drained the remaining root beer, crushed the aluminum can smartly and, with a wicked grin at Alberta, sent it sailing off in Ontario's direction, cheering softly as it landed in his lap. Ontario's head jerked over in her direction, giving her a dark look that would made someone other than his sister quail before he returned his attention to the children and began talking again.

Matthew looked over in BC's direction, giving her a quizzical look and then sighing loudly. She gave her father a sweet look, blowing him a kiss with mock seriousness and a mischievous wink. The corners of Matthew's mouth twitched with amusement as he rolled his eyes dramatically upward, a knowing grin spreading over his face before turning his attention back to P.E.I., who was recounting her latest potato venture and Saskatchewan proudly boasting about the record crops that had been incredibly good this year.

BC shook her head, a wide grin spreading over her face, chuckling with amusement.

"Good ol' Dad," she repeated, plucking a brownish-green blade of grass and twisting it in her fingers before placing it between her thumbs and bringing it up to her mouth and blowing gently. A sweet, clear sound pierced the silence of the night and everyone stopped talking for a moment to listen, their heads titled slightly to the right. For a few moments all was silent and then someone broke the spell and everyone began chattering again.

Alberta was impressed. She'd never been able to figure out how to make a blade of grass sing. That BC knew how to do so was amazing to her and a tribute to her cleverness.

BC put her hands down in her lap, smiling at her younger sister's impressed look, her eyes sparkling.

"I never knew how to do that," Alberta said quietly. "Saskatchewan did try to teach me once, but I just couldn't seem to grasp it properly. I just never seemed to have the knack."

"It's not too difficult to do, Abby," BC replied merrily, reaching out and plucking another blade of grass and turning toward her sister. "Here. Let me show you..."

BC took Alberta's hands in her own, placing the blade of grass between her thumbs and linking her fingers together.

"Now you try it."

Alberta looked at her sister uncertainly.

"Do you think it will work, B.?"

BC nodded sagely.

"Of course," she said with conviction. "Try it and see."

"All right," Alberta replied, bringing her linked hands to her face, "here goes nothing..."

She blew into the space and was startled to hear the same high clear and sweet note that she'd heard BC make earlier. A smile spread over her face as she blew again into the space between her linked hands and was rewarded with the same sweet sound once again. BC clapped her hands delightedly, her eyes sparkling.

"See, Abby," she crowed, "I _told_ you it would work!"

Alberta nodded, an amused smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"That you did, B.," she replied affectionately, unlinking her fingers and leaning over to BC, giving her a big hug the blade of grass falling silently to the ground between them, "that you did." She looked over at her elder sister, a smile spreading over her face. "It's good to see you again. I've really missed you."

BC nodded, tears welling in her eyes as she returned the hug.

"I missed you, too, Abby," she said, swallowing over the lump in her throat, "I can't tell you how much I've missed you all... with the exception of you-know-who." She flicked an eyebrow in Ontario's direction.

Alberta couldn't help it; she snickered. As she did so, she happened to notice her big brother glance suspiciously at the two of them before he rolled his eyes before returning, once again, to the oft-interrupted tale of his "adventures" in Western Canada to Nunavut and Newfoundland. The two childrens focus was completely on their older brother and the tale he was telling, their eyes sparkling with wonder and excitement.

Alberta sighed. To hear him tell it, her home turf might as well have been a foreign land and, perhaps, that was _exactly_ the way Ontario saw it. BC, on the other hand, stuck her tongue out at him the moment he wasn't looking and turned to her younger sister, an appalled expression on her face.

"I can't _believe _the kids would fall for that crap," BC said with disgust, making one of many faces behind Ontario's back. "I mean, really! _You _were the one who had to go to Athabasca to rescue his sorry rump when _he _got lost!"

Alberta started, a surprised look on her face.

"You _knew _about that?" she asked, bewilderment clear in her voice. "I had no idea."

BC nodded, a sly smirk spreading over her face.

"Oh, yes. Manitoba called me up and told me what happened." She winked at Alberta. "He was damned right gleeful about it, in fact!"

Alberta chortled.

"I'm really _not_ surprised to hear that Manitoba would have reveled in the news," she said evenly, "since they've never gotten along. I _would_ have been surprised if he _hadn't_!"

"True," BC agreed, reaching over and snatching another can of root beer. "I couldn't imagine him _not_ being happy about it, either." She paused, taking a large drink and swallowing before she continued speaking. "Those two have been fighting so long that I seriously doubt that they could ever stop." Her eyes twinkled with mischief. "Not that they've _tried_, mind you. It must drive Dad right around the bend!"

Alberta nodded in agreement, taking a sip of her 7-Up.

"You should have seen the last dust up between the two of them a few months back. I thought that Dad was going to pop a blood vessel when they started trading punches!"

"You don't say!" BC leaned forward eagerly, purloining an unopened bag of salt and vinegar chips from Nova Scotia who sighed and continued on his way. "What happened?"

Alberta shrugged. "The usual, what else?"

"You mean...?" BC opened up the bag, reached in and popped a chip into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. There was a brief silence as she looked at Alberta queryingly.

"Yep. The usual."

"Good grief." BC rolled her eyes and sighed. "You'd _think _that they had grown beyond petty name-calling by now."

"You would," her sister returned, reaching over and grabbing a handful of chips for herself, "but they _haven't_ and, more's the pity, they probably _never_ will." She popped three chips into her mouth, chewing quickly. "Personally, I think that they must secretly enjoy sniping and snapping at each other; they wouldn't keep doing it if they didn't get _some_ kind of perverse pleasure out of it."

BC giggled.

"You do have a point there," she remarked casually, draining the rest of her root beer in three large gulps, "although I assume that Dad isn't happy with either of them?"

"Not in the slightest. In fact, I heard him muttering something about "border lines" to run between the two of them. I figure Dad thinks that, if he keeps them apart, they won't keep finding things to fight about." She paused, taking a long sip from her can of 7-UP. "It's so crazy a plan that it just _might _work although I highly doubt it. Those two were born trading fisticuffs and they aren't likely to change _that_ anytime soon." She was silent for a moment. "I don't think that will ever change between the two of them."

BC nodded. The two girls sat in companionable silence for a time, eating chips and enjoying each others company. When they at last spoke, the subject had been changed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_October 30th  
10:50 P.M.  
Matthew's Residence, Living Room_

The first inkling that Alberta had that something was amiss was when BC stormed into the living room, shouting and waving her arms.

Alberta looked up from her book... and did a double take when she saw her elder sister standing there, her hands clenched into fists at her side. Her chest heaved as she tried to get her breath, her teeth gnashing and her brown eyes snapping sparks.

"Good gracious, B.!" she exclaimed, putting down her book quickly, standing up and rushing to her sister's side, her eyes wide. "_What _happened to you?"

BC sported two large black circles around her eyes that, coupled with the enraged expression on her face, made her look like a homicidal raccoon. Her brown hair was plastered to her skull, giving her the appearance of a drowned, angry rat with some kind of whitish substance that dripped down her face, leaving white streaks in their wake.

"Ontario happened, that's what!" BC snarled, her hands clenched into fists so hard that her knuckles turned white. "That... that... smirking, sniveling, self-satisfied _jerk_ rigged a bucket of god-knows-what on top of the guest room door and got this... this... _STUFF_... dumped all over me! Before that, I made the mistake of picking up Dad's binoculars to do some bird-watching and got _this_!" She pointed a shaking finger to her eyes. "Damn that miserable jackass to the lowest ring in the Nine Hells! He _did_ this on _purpose_!"

"No doubt," Alberta murmured, chewing her lower lip. "I do believe that you have _that_ pegged correctly."

BC continued on in the same vein for some time, pacing around the room and shouting about the various things she wanted to do to that "pompous so-and-so;" Alberta thought that some of them were anatomically impossible but she'd liked to have seen Ontario bent over backwards with his head tied between his feet and giggling at the mental image that popped into her head.

Her sister turned to glare at her, mistaking the giggle as Alberta laughing at her but she quickly explained that it was only the mental image she'd had. She made soothing noises in an effort to calm BC, patting her shoulder affectionately; it took some time but, eventually, BC seemed to be coming around and was about to say something when she was interrupted by Saskatchewan racing into the room, screaming bloody murder, scratching and swatting at his blue-jeaned leg and dancing in place, shifting from one foot to the other.

BC and Alberta stared at him for a moment; once they both had recovered from the shock, Alberta was about to ask him what was wrong but, before she had a chance to say a word, her eye was drawn to a small reddish-black spot on his leg... a _moving _reddish-black spot. She looked upward and saw more reddish-black spots dotted up and down his back and chest and, in that instant, she knew _what_ they were and went into action.

Without a word, Alberta raced from the room into the kitchen, grabbing a bucket and filling it with warm water. She dragged it quickly back and, taking Saskatchewan's arm, dragged him outside; she snatched his cowboy hat and held it to one side while she dumped the bucket of water over his head, dousing him thoroughly from head to foot. BC had followed her sister outside, frowning as she saw her sister dumping all that water over Saskatchewan, the corners of her mouth twitching.

"What did you do that for?" BC asked, her voice heavy with reproach, her eyebrow raising. "That _wasn't_ a very nice thing to do!"

Alberta was busy brushing off the other various black spots she saw on her brother's back and didn't answer immediately. Saskatchewan had calmed down now that he didn't feel anything moving, sighing with heart-felt relief, murmuring his thanks. Alberta did a once over and then nodded, a satisfied expression on her face.

She turned to see BC looking angrily at her.

"He had red ants crawling all over him, B.," she explained patiently, "and I needed some way to get them off of him _quickly_. _That's_ why I dumped that bucket of water on him."

BC nodded, a look of understanding coming over her face, her hostile expression softening at once before racing off to find a bath towel which she handed to Saskatchewan once they had all trooped back into the living room.

Saskatchewan thanked her with a look before he set to drying himself off. Alberta stood there in silence for a time, holding his cowboy hat in her hand and watching him, a thoughtful look on her face, her brow creased with concentration. BC noted the odd look on her face and was about to ask what she was thinking about but Saskatchewan's angry voice beat her to the punch.

"That damn jerk!" he raged, handing the sodden towel to BC, his cornflower-blue eyes blazing as he shook the little remaining water from his blond hair. "That no good, rotten, pompous _donkey_!"

"Let me guess," Alberta said nonchalantly, rolling her eyes upward as she handed him his cowboy hat. "Ontario again?"

Saskatchewan nodded vigorously, slapping his cowboy hat onto his head with more force than was absolutely necessary. Alberta _knew _her brother was angry and waited patiently for him to calm himself with BC looking quietly on. He _never_ said _anything _when he was angry and, instead, waited to calm down before he spoke which Alberta could _definitely _appreciate. How many times has she spoken in anger and made an already volatile situation that much worse?

"I _should_ have known something was up when he clapped me on the back!" Saskatchewan continued, glaring through the archway into the darkness beyond. "He _never_ does _that_, except when he's up to something! The next thing I know, I feel something like an army of bugs crawling on my shoulder and that's when I discover that I have all these... _things_... all over me and I could hear that damn jerk laughing at me from the kitchen!"

BC snorted in disgust, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I think that dear brother needs to be taught a lesson, don't you?" she asked her siblings, both of them nodding in the affirmative. "This time he's gone _too _far! First, the kids and now us!"

"I agree," Alberta replied, Saskatchewan also in clear agreement. "It's time he got a taste of his own medicine." She smiled wickedly as BC and Saskatchewan moved closer to her. "And I have the _perfect _prank in mind, too! Come here and I'll tell you about it."

When her siblings heard what she planned to do for her Halloween prank on Ontario, they agreed that is was _perfect_!

"I can't _wait _to see the look on his face!" Saskatchewan crowed, slapping his leg and howling with laughter. "Count me in, Sis!"

BC agreed enthusiastically. "Me, too! This is going to be **GREAT**!"

Alberta smirked as she struck a silly pose. "Then let the planning for the great Halloween prank begin!"

Their merriment lasted well into the night which caused _quite_ an anxious moment for _someone_ who heard them...

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_October 30th_  
_Ontario's Room_  
_11:15 P.M._

_From his room in the far side of the house, Ontario heard the noise and wondered, fearfully, what his siblings were up to. They were having entirely _too _much fun and it worried him, particularly since he could imagine_ what _it was they seemed so_ happy _about. _

"More than likely _no _good, knowing Alberta,_" he muttered under his breath, turning out the light and clambering into bed, "_and, being followed closely by BC, means trouble. They have some kind of mischief afoot; I'll find out what it is and spoil their little assignation in the morning."

_He yawned and then smirked unpleasantly as he lay down, pulling the covers over his head and burrowing in under the warm comforter._

"And then I'll show them," _he murmured softly to himself, _"that they can't out prank me and the one I'll pull on those two will be one hundred times better than the one I pulled on the kids." _He smiled, closing his eyes._ "_That_ will teach those damned western provinces to mess with _me_...!"

_He might have thought something else but Ontario was soon fast asleep, dreaming of the night to come and the prank that he would pull on British Columbia and Alberta... and enjoying the pleasant dream that thought gave him._


	3. The Great Frank Slide Caper

_All provinces, except Alberta and Ontario, used were created by ctcSherry; the voices are from their respective voice actors/actresses and appear on YouTube in "Canada, Eh!" videos._

_The characters of Alberta and Ontario I use in this fic [physical appearance and personalities] are by Nanihoo and are used with permission! Thanks!_

_All of the province's reactions and modes of thought are fictional and any relation to any actual province is entirely coincidental. Sort of. _

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_With the plan in place, Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan look forward to pulling the best Halloween prank ever on their recalcitrant brother Ontario. She has the perfect person in mind for the fourth in this little conspiracy..._

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**Warning: Another LONG chapter ahead!**

Chapter 3! Looks like all the bad karma that Ontario has been building up for over one hundred and some odd years is about to bite him on the behind... and hard! Revenge has never felt _so_ good!

Information on the Frank Slide was taken from an article on Wikipedia and from a four part article, "Frank Slide, Alberta: The Day The Mountain Fell." Information about the population of Frank pre-1903 was also taken from the Wikipedia article. [website addresses in my profile.]

*Had a bit of a rush on this one. Almost finished the fourth chapter and it looks like I'll get it up before Halloween!*

Thanks to my readers and all those who have favourited, reviewed and story alerted my work. I appreciate it more than I can say!

Special thanks to my beloved husband, DezoPenguin, for all his help, support, advice, nagging (when necessary) and encouragement! I appreciate it more than I can say! Love you!  
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This fic is dedicated to Nanihoo, with grateful thanks! Hope you enjoy this and thank you very much for allowing me to use your Alberta and Ontario characters! Much appreciated!  
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Any and all comments will be appreciated and are enthusiastically welcomed!

Hetalia Axis Powers, Teen, AU

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_October 31st  
Breakfast Nook, Matthew's Residence  
8:30 A.M._

Alberta yawned as she took a sip of her morning coffee, rubbing her red-rimmed eyes tiredly as she sat at the table in the breakfast nook, doing her level best to try and keep her eyes open. She was used having to get up early but she hadn't gotten to bed until an ungodly hour of the morning the other night; she'd forgotten that BC loved the nightlife and usually never got to bed until 5 in the morning. She groaned as she put her hand to her head, closing her eyes and cursing BC's night owlish tendencies.

_I_ should _have known better_, she thought ruefully, laying her arm down on the table, her head following shortly, her right hand clutching the coffee mug's handle like a life preserver, _BC is _never_ in bed before dawn, usually_. She groaned again. _I should have known..._

She _felt_, rather than _heard_, someone come into the nook. It _wasn't_ a pleasant presence, by any stretch of the imagination; it felt like an evil bird of prey hovering over her...

_Great. Not_ only _am I exhausted from, stupidly, staying up all night with BC but_ now _I have to deal with Ontario first thing in the morning. Lovely._

Ontario bustled around the nook, making as much noise as he possibly could as he fixed himself some breakfast. He whistled the same merry tune as he did so repeatedly until Alberta felt like strangling him but resisted the urge with a great deal of effort.

_He's just doing it to annoy me and I absolutely refuse to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he's getting on my nerves!_

"Good morning, dear sister," he said gamely with a saccharine sweetness that made her feel ill, "how are you this fine, _fine_ morning?"

She mumbled something that sounded like "_Good... until_ you _got here_" that he cheerfully ignored and continued talking as he continued to prepare his breakfast, opening cabinet doors, fishing out items and banging the pots and pans as he pulled them out of the cookery cupboard.

Alberta clenched her teeth as the noise continued, her fingers itching to circle his throat and squeeze.

_Ontario is the_ only _person I know who talks most when he's annoying someone than he does for pleasure_. She winced as another loud clatter broke through her semi-conscious state. _He's one twisted sicko. God, I hate him._

"Yes, it is a most beautiful day," he commented, banging the dish on the counter so hard she was sure that he'd broken it, the loud clatter echoing throughout the nook,"and it will be an even more wonderful evening since it is Halloween Eve." He grinned and she could almost see that oily, smug, self-satisfied smile spread over his face. "I have plans for this evening. Do you have any plans, dear sister?"

She mumbled something else that sounded like "_Don't you have someone else to you need to bother?_" which, again, he cheerfully ignored and went back to the one-sided conversation with great pleasure and enjoyment. He _had_ to have known that, despite her best efforts, he _was_ beginning to grate on her and he set about doing so with more gusto and enthusiasm than he had before.

Alberta twitched, her fingers curling around the mug handle so hard that her knuckles were turning white. She was getting tired of his evident pleasure and cheerfulness which was, truth be told, _really_ getting her goat. She wasn't sure how much longer she could prevent herself from acting on the almost _unbearable_ urge to kill him.

_I know its against the law but this is Ontario we're talking about here. No jury in the world would convict me if I_ did! She sighed. _Dad would mind, though... damn it._ She tried to ignore Ontario but it was becoming increasingly difficult to do. _There goes the dream..._

"At any rate, _dear sister_," he continued, the smell of frying eggs and bacon warring with her growling stomach and almost overcoming the nauseating tone of his voice, "I thought that I would join you for breakfast since I know you're usually up by this time and sitting here in the breakfast nook."

She couldn't help it; her fist clenched. _I am_ **NOT** _your dear sister, you pompous ass, and thanks a_ lot _for ruining my morning!_

He started whistling again as she heard him preparing the toast, numerous openings and closings of the refrigerator door and cupboards, telling her that he was taking out various things and pouring himself a large glass of orange juice. She felt her mouth twisting in distaste as he continued on, the noise becoming even more loud the longer it continued.

_That miserable jerk is doing it on purpose!_ Alberta thought grumpily, the urge to strangle him becoming overwhelming. _Damn that miserable, rotten...!_

She heard him walk over to the table and the dragging sound when he pulled out one of the mahogany chairs directly across from her, scraping the legs across the black and white tiled floor. The wood screeched in protest and Alberta found it nearly impossible to ignore this latest barrage. It was pretty damned obvious that the no-good rotten turkey was doing it just to annoy her and, if this was indeed his intent, then he was doing a marvelous job!

_Keep it up, jerk wad..._

"So," he said setting down his dishes, glass and mug with a loud clatter before settling himself into the chair and dragging it forward until his stomach was in line with the ring of the table, "what do you have planned for this evening?" He picked up his fork and dug in, smacking his lips soundly with enjoyment. "Mmmm... delicious!" He picked up a piece of his toast and bit into it happily, chewing lustily before adding, "I assume that you have something planned for this evening with BC since you two seemed so tight last night at the cookout."

Alberta felt sick to her stomach as she heard him talking with his mouth full but she steeled herself not to care. If that pompous donkey expected a reaction from her then she was about to disappoint him immensely.

_Damn you to the lowest ring of Hell, brother dear!_

Ontario tilted his head slightly to the right at her silence, his brow furrowing at her continued silence; normally, she would have lit into him with three hundred different curses by now and this shook him a little since he hadn't expected her to be so recalcitrant. He decided to continue on in the same vein but that was no more successful than his previous attempts were.

He shrugged after awhile and continued eating, determined to annoy his sister into giving up the information he was searching for.

"I have some plans for this evening," he said pleasantly, chewing loudly another large bite of his toast. "Do you, dear sister? I heard you, Saskatchewan and BC laughing about something and I wanted to be let in on the joke."

_Ha! You_ **ARE** _the joke, Ontario! And if_ you _think that I'll tell you_ anything, _you're out of your mind!_

If he was annoyed with Alberta's continuing stubborn resistance, he did his best not to show it. Instead, he kept up the inane chatter until Alberta, unable to take that oily voice any longer, clapped her free hand to the side left hand of her head, her teeth clenched in a death's head grimace.

_God, I can't stand it anymore! Will you just shut up?_

"Anyway, that's enough about my plans for Halloween..."

_Thank God! I couldn't stand another one of your tangents!_

"...so what are your plans?"

_Argh!_ Alberta resisted the urge to bang her head against the formica tabletop. For one thing, it would mean that Ontario had gotten her goat and her pride refused to allow him _that_ particular satisfaction. For another, it would hurt like hell, yet another pleasure that she refused to let him have.

_Get stuffed, Ontario!_

"Anything you have planned with the other provinces?" He took a big bite out of his third piece of toast. "You, Saskatchewan and BC were thick as thieves about something, I saw." He paused a moment. "I wonder if Dad knows what you three are up to?"

_Get bent, Ontario!_

"I'm sure that it isn't anything untoward," he continued smoothly, taking a large sip of his orange juice, shoveling some more of his bacon and eggs into his mouth.

_Go away, Ontario!_

"The kids are _really_ looking forward to trick or treating tonight. They had quite a nice haul of candy last year, if I remember correctly..."

_Get lost, Ontario!_

"...I hear that P.E.I., Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Yukon will be taking out the kids this year although I hear that they might ask you to come with them since you seem to enjoy it so much... and the kids really _do_ appreciate your presence..."

_Take a hike, Ontario!_

Ontario sighed with irritation. Clearly, this was getting him _nowhere_ and he was running out of time, not to mention patience. Alberta _refused_ to divulge one single bit of the information he sought although he knew, quite rightly, that she, BC and Saskatchewan were _definitely_ up to something. He was almost through with his breakfast (and with any excuse to tarry longer that wouldn't alert her) and, although he knew that he had managed to annoy her, she refused to show it.

He knew that she was irritated by her body language: the shaking hand clutching the mug handle so tightly he was surprised that it hadn't broken it off; the muffled grumblings that sounded like she was cursing him that were coming up from underneath where her head lay; her shoulders shaking... _That_ irritated him even more and added to his already sulky mood as he glared daggers at her prostrate form.

_What good does it do to annoy your sister when she refuses to show you she's annoyed? That's half the fun spoiled right there!_

Since it didn't seem likely that she was going to talk to him anytime soon, Ontario finished his breakfast, sulking as he drained the last bit of orange juice from his glass before setting it down with a loud thump, the only outward indication of his displeasure.

_Diplomacy be damned!_ Ontario thought, his mouth twisting into the all too familiar snarl he was infamous for, pushing away his plate with a single shove which slid across the tabletop and pushing back from the table, the chair's legs scraping against the floor in screeching protest. _I'll find out what's going on one way or another, dear sister and, when I do, you'll be in for it, you damn brat!_

Unfortunately for Ontario, the plate and dishes he'd pushed across the table had been with enough vigour that they had struck Alberta in the elbow with sufficient force to rouse her... _and_ her fiery temper. While Ontario stood there with a shocked expression on his face, her left hand shot out, with a muffled growl, and grabbed the end of his tie. She wrapped it around her hand with lightning speed and, with a quick jerk, yanked him over the table; with an indignant squawk, Ontario pitched forward, his arms and legs flailing as Alberta dragged him across the table, hauling up his surprised and frightened face to look into her enraged countenance, giving him a good shake.

"If you even so much as_ think_ about doing_ that _again, dear brother, I'll run you through with a pitchfork, boil you in diesel fuel and stake you out in the cow pasture with my ten thousand head that you oh so courteously misdirected to Vancouver!"

_Oh, hell...!_ he thought miserably as his wide, hazel eyes stared at her snapping sparks greenish-blues, her mouth twisted with rage. _Now I've done it... I was hoping that she'd forgotten about that little prank I'd pulled on her but I guess she didn't, worse luck!_

His mouth worked but he made no sound as she shook him, her anger increasing as the minutes ticked by, a sickly smile spreading over his face.

"Do. You. Understand. Me., Ontario?" Alberta snarled, shaking him with every word she uttered until his teeth were literally rattling in his head. "I. Have. Had. It. With. You. And. Your. Nonsense. And. I. Will. NOT. Take. It. Anymore! I. Don't. Care. What. Dad. Thinks; Back. Off. Or. I. Promise. You. That. You. Will. Regret. It! Got. It?"

He mewled as his hands scrabbled to grab his tie but Alberta held him firmly and refused to let him get up; no matter how many times he'd tried, he couldn't do it since she was too strong. He'd vastly underestimated her and now, he was paying the price. He found it difficult to breathe since she was holding him so tightly.

"M-M..." Ontario began but Alberta cut him off ruthlessly, shaking him again. She glared at him while he struggled to take a breath.

He tried again.

"I... I... can't... help... breathe... Please..." he gasped out wretchedly, his fingers trying to pry hers off of his tie without discernible success.

"Do you promise to back off and leave me alone, Ontario?" she asked, a cold edge to her voice that, he swore, frosted the rim on his orange juice glass. "If you do, I'll let go. If not..." She let her voice trail off menacingly, looking pointedly at him.

Ontario nodded quickly, struggling to take in another breath.

"I...I... promise..."

"All right then," Alberta said with satisfaction, letting the tie she had a hold of slip through her fingers and he slid backward, away from her, with record-breaking speed. "Just remember: _you_ promised to behave! And you'd better. Or else..."

Not trusting himself to respond and not wanting to go through another bout with her, Ontario loosened his tie, quickly turning around and literally running over BC and Saskatchewan who were entering the breakfast nook as he was exiting, his wide eyed stare focused firmly on Alberta's smug countenance as he passed them.

BC's eyebrow raised in silent question, her gaze fixed on the back of her rapidly retreating brother.

"What's with him?" she asked with some puzzlement, pointing at him with her thumb as he disappeared into the next room.

"Nothing much." Alberta stretched and yawned, grinning wolfishly. "He_ just_ got a taste of prairie justice... and it _didn't_ go down at all well."

Saskatchewan hooted with laughter as he crossed the floor over to the cupboard, chewing on the single grain stalk that he had in his mouth, opening it and taking out his favourite coffee mug-"_Cowboys Do It Better In The Dark_"-and pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"I would have loved to have seen it!" he crowed, taking a sip of the hot, fragrant brew, closing his eyes and moaning in pleasure as the wonderfully soothing taste hit his taste buds, his fingers wrapping around the hot mug delightedly. "I'll bet _he_ won't be wrangling with_ you _again anytime soon!"

"He'd be an utter fool if he did," BC agreed, walking over to the refrigerator and taking out the pitcher of milk, "then again, this _is_ Ontario we're talking about, after all!" She giggled as she walked over to the cupboard and, reaching behind Saskatchewan, plucked out a frosted mug, put it on the counter and poured the milk into it.

She watched the foaming white liquid fill the mug in silence; once it was filled to the top, she pulled up the pitcher and walked back to the refrigerator, placing the pitcher back in and closing the door.

Alberta chuckled tiredly. "Oh, I expect that he'll be _burning_ with the urge to avenge himself on me," she quipped, lifting her mug to her mouth and drinking deeply, "and, to be honest, I'm rather looking forward to seeing what it is he'll come up with _this_ time!" She took another large sip. "He'd better _not_ touch _my_ cattle shipments again or I _will_ kill him!"

BC nodded as she and Saskatchewan walked over to the table, pulled out individual chairs and sat down, placing their mugs on the tabletop. BC looked at Saskatchewan's mug and made a face.

"Honestly, Saskatchewan," she said with distaste thick enough to cut with, "must you use that... _that... mug..._?"

"What's wrong with it?" he asked indignantly.

"It's just so..." BC struggled to find the right words to express her feelings. "...Dirty."

"_How_? It shows a cowboy harvesting wheat by candlelight! _What's_ so bad about _that_?"

"Nothing!"" BC retorted, taking a drink of her milk, giving her brother the gimlet eye. "It just... sounds ..._dirt__y_, that's all!"

"_This_ from _you_?" he returned, the indignation plain in his tone, BC making a face at him. "Who was the one who had all those blue magazines stashed under her-"

"Enough!" Alberta shouted, clapping her hands to her ears. "We _have_ something that we need to discuss and it isn't about damned mugs or blue magazines!" Alberta glared at her chastened siblings, BC and Saskatchewan clamming up immediately once they saw the look on her face. "I _haven't_ had a whole lot of sleep-" She glared at BC, who turned beet red and looked at the floor, turning an equally malevolent glare at Saskatchewan who paled and looked at the ceiling. "-and we _do_ need to get a few of the ground rules set before we do anything! I would really appreciate it if you both would save this particular argument for another time; right now, we _have_ work to do!"

"Sorry," BC and Saskatchewan mumbled shamefacedly, unable to meet her gaze for a few minutes.

Alberta nodded in satisfaction.

"Good." She rubbed here eyes again, sighing. "Damn, I need more sleep." She cast a baleful glance at BC. "How do you do stay up all night and not feel it the next day?"

BC blushed.

"I... I suppose I never really thought much about it," she replied with a shrug. "I _don't_ need a lot of sleep to operate, I never have."

"Remind me next time not to stay up with you that late again."

BC tittered nervously, nodding her head in clear agreement.

Alberta smiled, unmistakable relief washing over the faces of her two siblings as she did so. She _had_ a temper, this younger sister of theirs, and neither one wanted to tangle with her when she was in a bad mood unlike Ontario and Quebec whom they both swore had a collective death wish. BC and Saskatchewan preferred her to be calm whenever they had something to discuss with her since they had been first hand witnesses to many a meltdown concerned with Ontario and Quebec both.

BC shuddered as she remembered one particularly venomous exchange-on national unity, of all things-that ended up with Alberta and Quebec exchanging various insults in both French _and_ English before it rapidly turned into a free for all brawl, the two siblings screaming and punching each other.

_I know Dad said that he wanted to remodel the kitchen_, she thought wryly as she looked over at the new door which had replaced the one that Quebec and Alberta had destroyed in their brawl, _but I_ don't _think that_ this _was the way he wanted to go about it!_

Quebec had come out on the losing end, as she recalled, but both he and Alberta had been grounded for a year and not allowed to go anywhere unless it was to their various jobs. It had been a difficult year for the two of them, and for Dad, too. He knew that there was nothing that Alberta loved more than to jump into her pick-up truck every now and again and take a ride, the driver's side window rolled down, feeling the wind blow through her long, brown hair.

Matthew stood by what he said and he made sure that _both_ of them knew it. They'd done their time mostly in silence although there were a few pointed comments muttered under their breath every now and then-his in French and hers in English-when they hadn't been able to completely avoid each other in the hallway. She also remembered seeing the tired, sad look on Dad's face many times during that long and terrible year and knew instantly that this was hard on him, too. He wanted nothing more than for all of his children to get along but, as had been so adequately proven in the past, some, particularly Manitoba and Ontario, would never get along and the best had to be made of that fact.

After that, Alberta and Quebec studiously avoided each other whenever they could, venomous looks passing between the two when they bumped into each other at some of those rare times that they were both out and about.

BC nibbled on the tip of her thumbnail, deep in thought. _I_ can't _really blame her for that; Quebec is _such _a pain! Between him and Ontario, I _don't _know who's_ worse!

"BC?" she heard Saskatchewan say, jolting her back to reality, her two siblings looking at her curiously.

"What?"

"You seemed out of it for awhile there," Saskatchewan said, adding mischievously, "Have you been imbibing in that hemp plant you're always carrying around?"

She made a face at him as she punched him playfully on the shoulder, Saskatchewan chortling with amusement. She felt a wicked smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she looked at him and he winked back at her.

"You smart aleck," she said affectionately as he dodged another play punch, grinning at her like a Cheshire Cat, Alberta looking on with amusement.

"I live to serve," he replied with mock seriousness and the three erupted into laughter, needling each other good naturedly. After the mirth had died down some time later, Alberta said seriously, "Since we're all here and, for all intents and purposes, _awake_, I think it's time to discuss the Halloween prank that I came up with."

BC agreed, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. "What have you in mind?"

Alberta leaned forward, her eyes glittering with undisguised mischief, BC and Saskatchewan following her lead.

"You know about the Frank Slide, don't you?" she asked, BC and Saskatchewan both nodding in the affirmative. "There's a couple of ghostly legends about the place and I wanted to take Ontario up there and scare the bejeezus out of him."

"Sounds good so far," Saskatchewan remarked with a grin. "What are you planning to do when you get him up there?"

"That's where _you_ two come in."

"_Us_?" BC asked uncertainly, her bewilderment echoed by Saskatchewan who looked at her dubiously. "What do _we_ do?"

"One of the legends is about a prostitute, Monty Lewis, who is said to walk where the town of Frank used to be before the north-eastern face of Turtle Mountain fell and covered it in 1903." BC shuddered and the expression on Saskatchewan's face echoed hers.

Alberta nodded solemnly. "It's a _nasty_ piece of business, to say the least; approximately seventy to ninety people were killed, out of a population of about one thousand at the time, although there were only twelve bodies recovered. There _is_ a possibility that there were more fatalities than were recorded at the time; rumour has it that there may have been at least fifty more men camped out in the valley the night before the mountain walked but we don't know for sure. Anyway," Alberta continued, getting back to the topic at hand and none too soon since her siblings looked a little green about the gills after hearing the story of the Frank Slide disaster,"Monty Lewis is said to walk the boulders where the Frank Hotel used to be, appearing as a woman in white and screaming blue murder that, so they say, is because she's not happy having been taken from this life much too soon and in such an awful manner."

"I can't blame her," BC said, "I'd object, quite strenuously, to being killed myself."

"Who did it and why?" Saskatchewan asked, his brow creasing.

"Her lover," Alberta replied, "was supposedly short of money and he wanted her to sell some of her jewels and give the money to him. She didn't like that idea too much, apparently; her jewels were her pride and joy and she refused to give them up. It was a decision that cost her her life; he stabbed her to death and took off with some of her jewellery."

She stopped a moment, taking another swallow of coffee before she continued. "That's better. Had to wet my whistle there a bit. Anyway, according to one version of the story, her lover was found some months later with the jewellery that he had stolen was duly tried and executed for the crime while the other says that he got away with it and lived out his life in obscurity."

"Huh." BC looked disgusted, her nose wrinkling in distaste. "Jerk."

"I'd have to agree with you there, sister," Saskatchewan said, his tone making plain his contempt for Monty Lewis' lover. "He gives the male race a bad name."

Alberta nodded. "The man was _definitely_ a blackguard." She made a face. "I _hate_ it when people get away with their crimes; it leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

BC and Saskatchewan agreed and the three sat in silence for awhile. Presently, Alberta broke it.

"At any rate, back to the discussion at hand. What we need is someone to play the woman in white, someone to keep watch to make sure that no one else is lurking about that would spoil the plan, someone else to play some recorded screams and the fourth person to get it all on film so, that if Ontario _ever_ opens his mouth again about how _brave_ he is, we'll have undeniable proof that he's just blowing a lot of hot air!"

BC clapped her hands. "Wonderful!" she exclaimed, her expression one of absolute glee. "That should shut him up once and for all! Now we don't have to listen to him shooting off his mouth anymore!"

Saskatchewan grinned, pushing his cowboy hat back onto his head. "Sounds great to me! Let's do it! Who's going to play the woman in white?"

"BC," Alberta replied, smiling at her elder sister with affection as she blushed and preened with delight.

"A good choice," Saskatchewan commented wryly and BC playfully punched him on the shoulder, rolling her eyes at him, a wide grin plastered over her face. He grinned back at her.

"Indeed, I thought so," Alberta remarked drily, a mischievous grin spreading over her face.

"Who'll be in charge of the recorded screams?" BC asked when silence filled the nook once again.

"Saskatchewan will be and Manitoba-even though I haven't asked him yet but, since it involves getting even with Ontario, I know that he'll be more than happy to help-will be in charge of filming."

Saskatchewan did some mental arithmetic and remarked a few minutes later, "That's three people; you said that there would be four. Someone's missing."

Alberta shook her head. "No, I just haven't mentioned who the fourth person will be yet."

Saskatchewan nodded, chewing on his single grain stalk thoughtfully.

"I should have known that you would have covered all the bases beforehand. Who do you have in mind?"

Alberta motioned to her siblings to move in closer which they did, practically hovering over the table.

"The person I have chosen for lookout is the best person for the job. The biggest pain in the neck possible that doesn't miss a trick or even a chance to start spouting off. He'll make sure that no one else is around and, if he does, he'll chase him off and happily."

"Really?" BC chortled. "Who is '_he_'?"

Before Alberta had a chance to say a word, the siblings heard a scuffling sound followed by crisp, flavoured cursing in French. The three looked up as Quebec entered the room, a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth, his brown hair sticking up every which way and in dire need of combing which proved that he had just got out of bed. He saw the three looking at him and said crossly, in heavily accented English, "What?"

Alberta grinned and pointed at her snarky, English hating sibling, BC and Saskatchewan gaping in surprise.

"Him," she said simply.


	4. Unspoken Plan Guaranteed

_All provinces, except Alberta and Ontario, used were created by ctcSherry; the voices are from their respective voice actors/actresses and appear on YouTube in "Canada, Eh!" videos._

_The characters of Alberta and Ontario I use in this fic [physical appearance and personalities] are by Nanihoo and are used with permission! Thanks!_

_All of the province's reactions and modes of thought are fictional and any relation to any actual province is entirely coincidental. Sort of. :D_

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_With the plan in place, Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan look forward to pulling the best Halloween prank ever on their recalcitrant brother Ontario. Now all they have to do is to get Quebec to agree and it doesn't look like he's going to willingly. Can Alberta change his mind somehow or is the plan doomed before it even starts? And, when it does, will it go according to plan or will something else be in place on this spooky Halloween night?_

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**WARNING: Good heavens, EPICALLY LONG CHAPTER AHEAD!**

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN, EVERYONE!** May all the spookiness of Halloween be yours in abundance! :^)

The last chapter! :^) Sorry for the length but I couldn't find a place where I could reasonably split this chapter without, in my mind, ruining the pace of the story so I decided to leave it as is. This is one of the longest chapters I think I've ever written! I do hope that you enjoy this final chapter! :)

I used to take my youngest sister trick or treating when she was young-she's eight years younger than I-and I used to have the same problem that Alberta has: namely, that the houses we visited kept calling me her mother even when I told them-repeatedly-that I was her oldest sister. They also pressed a handful or two of candy on me, as well, which I really didn't mind in the slightest although I felt kind of bad about it. At first. I soon gave up trying to tell them that I was her sister since they weren't listening to me, anyway, and pocketed the candy when it was given to me without a qualm after that. I came up about two pocketfuls worth on my own so I _wasn't_ complaining! :D  
I really didn't mind doing it any more than I minded carving the Halloween Jack O'Lantern; in fact, I rather enjoyed taking her out _and_ carving the Halloween Jack O'Lantern. I still carve it to this day every Halloween. My husband draws the face on it and I carve it. :) And I enjoy myself immensely.

The year 1995, of course, refers to the Quebec referendum, plebiscite on Quebec independence. I was in my second year of college then and there were a bunch of us who were watching the results in the dorm TV room with baited breath and broke into cheers when the "No" side won, though barely!

All Saints Day is November 1st, a day in which the Catholic Church honours all the saints, both known and unknown. It seemed like a fitting end to the story by having their adventure end on All Saints Day so I included it and a little twist, too! :^) The book that Alberta was reading, _Ghost Stories of Alberta_, is a book by Barbara Smith and a very good book, as well! :)

[Website addresses on the Frank Slide and from a four part article, "Frank Slide, Alberta: The Day The Mountain Fell," are in my profile.]

I can see Quebec and Alberta butting heads every now and again though ignoring each other most of the time; I can see Alberta breaking into French if the situation requires it! :D

I hope you've enjoyed this silly little fic of mine and that it gave you a laugh and/or a smile! :) Happy Halloween, everyone, and may all the spookiness of the season be yours in abundance!

**Thanks** to my readers and all those who have favourited, reviewed, story alerted, favourite author or author alerted me. I appreciate it more than I can say! :)

**Special thanks** to my beloved husband, DezoPenguin, for all his help, support, advice, nagging (when necessary) and encouragement! I appreciate it more than I can say! Love you! And also thank you for suggesting the title, which is taken from the title of a trope at the TvTropes website, that fits this chapter perfectly! :) [Website address in my profile for those interested in taking a look!]

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This fic is dedicated to Nanihoo, with grateful thanks! Hope you enjoy this and thank you _very_ much for allowing me to use your Alberta and Ontario characters! Much appreciated! :)

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Any and all comments will be appreciated and are enthusiastically welcomed! :)

Hetalia Axis Powers, Teen, AU

Also posted to dA.

French text translation is by Yahoo! Babel fish. Any mistakes that were made in said translation are mine. It's been way _too _many years since I last took French for me to trust my memory! :D *And I don't think I still have my French textbook that I had in college, either.*

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_October 31st_  
_Breakfast Nook, Matthew's Residence_  
_8:35 A.M._

"No!" Quebec said haughtily, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the three assembled at the table, his accent seeming more heavy than usual in his indignant tone. "I absolutely _refuse_ to have any _part_ in this _ridiculous_ charade!"

"Oh, come on, Quebec!" BC implored, her eyes shining. "You're the _perfect _one for the job!"

Quebec's eyebrow lifted. "Really?" he asked, suspicion clear in his voice.

"Sure! You're the biggest pain in the ass we know!"

Alberta groaned, putting her face into her hand as Quebec launched into a blistering tirade, telling BC exactly, and quite colourfully as well, what he thought of _her_, _her_ attitude, English speakers and western Canada in general. BC's eyes sparked as she, in turn, told Quebec what she thought of _him_, French speakers, _his_ attitude and the Parti Québécois in particular.

Quebec looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel as he railed against BC, Saskatchewan looking at Alberta helplessly as his brother and sister continued shouting at each other in mingled French and English. His younger sister, meanwhile, drummed her fingers on the formica tabletop, her hand cupping the left side of her face, sighing loudly.

_I might have _known _this would happen, _Alberta thought with chagrin, her eyes flickering over to the two combatants, _and I _should _have expected it. Quebec_ doesn't _like_ anyone _who speaks English and BC doesn't take kindly to snarly French speaking types... not that I can really blame her. I don't like them, either! _She took a deep breath, her ears beginning to ring from the ear-piercing tones of her two siblings which, over time, had become even more shrill and unbearable.

At the end of her rope, Alberta jumped up, slamming her hands flat on top of the table as she did so with all of her might, a loud smacking noise echoing through the nook that apparently broke through the sounds of verbal combat since they stopped instantly, both BC and Quebec turning to face her.

Alberta's face was creased with anger, her chest heaving as she struggled to quell her rising temper, her greenish-blue eyes throwing out teal sparks as she glared at them, her teeth clenched. For some time, there was a silent battle of wills between the three, each trying to outlast the other but, some time later, BC's and Quebec's eyes dropped and they looked at the floor unable to bear Alberta's steady, angry glare.

"If you _two _are through _now_," she said icily while both BC and Quebec had the grace to look at least slightly contrite, "we can get back to discussing _your _role in this little farce, Quebec." She gave him a look when she saw him open his mouth to protest and he snapped it shut immediately, his eyes locked on to her pointing finger. "Yes, you _are _going to help, whether _you_ like it _or_ not."

Quebec snorted, his hazel eyes full of challenge. BC and Saskatchewan sucked in their collective breaths and moved back a few paces, away from the area of combat.

"I think not," he replied saucily, his eyes narrowing as he looked at his sister. "And _you _can't make _me_!"

Alberta cocked an eyebrow. "Really?" she said mildly. "I think not. You _will _do as you're told, Quebec, and _like _it!"

Quebec laughed. "Ainsi vous dites mais je ne vois pas n'importe qui ici qui m'incitera à faire car vous dire, Alberta! [So _you_ say but I do not see anyone here who will make me do as you say, Alberta!]" he chortled in French, spreading his arms wide in triumph. "Vous n'avez pas un pied à tenir dessus, ma chère soeur. Admettez juste votre échec et mouvement dessus! [You do not have a foot to stand on, my dear sister. Just admit your failure and move on!"] He looked at her, his eyes glittering. "Je vous dis, je ne serai pas une partie à cette farce et ce, mon cher, est mon mot final sur le sujet! [I tell you, I will not be a party to this farce and that, my dear, is my final word on the subject!]"

He crossed his arms over his chest while Alberta looked at him, a neutral expression on her face. Outwardly, she looked calm but both BC and Saskatchewan could see the slight tremor in her hands as she resisted the urge to curl them into fists and the slight twitching of the corners of her mouth.

"Je pense pas, cher frère,[I think not, dear brother]," she replied in French, startling both Quebec and her two siblings immensely. They had forgotten that Alberta was bilingual. "Vous suffirez comme moi dire ou moi te promet que vous serez désolé.[You will do as I say or I promise you that you will be sorry.]" She grinned wolfishly. "Et vous savez que je suis quelqu'un qui la garde toujours des promesses. [And you know that I am someone who always keeps her promises.]" Her eyes narrowed into evil little slits as she leveled a killing glare in Quebec's direction. "Faites- confiancemoi sur celui-ci, Québec ; vous ne voulez pas savoir ce que je ferai si vous continuez à être têtu! [Trust me on this one, Quebec; you do not want to know what I will do if you continue to be stubborn!]"

Quebec's mouth worked though no sound emerged. Alberta stood her ground, seemingly calm and clearly holding the upper hand in this battle.

"Je ne vous crois pas, Alberta. Vous bluffez simplement! [I do not believe you, Alberta. You are simply bluffing!]"

"Pourquoi je? [Why would I?]" Alberta asked mildly, taking a step toward Quebec who watched her advance with alarm though he refused to budge. "Pourquoi est-ce que je blufferais quand je sais que je tiens l'atout de gain ? Pourquoi est-ce que je perdrais mon temps et essayerais de vous convaincre autrement si je n'étais pas déjà certain de la victoire ? Queest-ce que je gagnerais en faisant cela, Québec? [Why would I bluff when I know that I hold the winning trump card? Why would I waste my time and try to convince you otherwise if I was not already certain of victory? What would I gain by doing that, Quebec?]"

"Je ne sais pas [I do not know]," he mumbled, taking a few steps back while his sister continued her slow advance toward him, that same carefully neutral expression on her face. "Je ne sais pas votre esprit anglais ni je comprends comment cela fonctionne ou même pourquoi vous pensez ce que vous faites. Je ne vous comprends pas, Alberta, ni fais je vous aime. [I do not know your English mind nor do I understand how it works or even why you think what you do. I do not understand you, Alberta, nor do I like you.]"

Alberta chuckled as she moved to stand in front of him, her face mere inches away from his own.

"L'honnêteté est en effet une bonne politique, frère cher, [Honesty is indeed a good policy, brother dear]," she said mockingly, "mais j'ai l'atout de gain comme j'ai dit avant. Si vous continuez à être têtu, le Québec, je le jouerai, je promets! [but I do have the winning trump card as I said before. If you continue to be stubborn, Quebec, I will play it, I promise!]"

She looked so sure of herself that Quebec began to wonder if he was as secure in this fight as his sister thought she was. Indeed, he was curious to know exactly what it was that she had up her sleeve.

"Et ce qui, ma chère soeur, est votre plan, votre, atout comme vous dites? [And what, my dear sister, is your plan, your 'trump card,' as you say?]" he said lightly though he was beginning to tremble from her close proximity. "Je ne crois pas que vous avez réellement un et que c'est tous les air chaud et fracas sur votre cloison. [I do not believe that you actually have one and that this is all hot air and bluster on your part.]"

"Faites-vous croient vraiment que je serais tellement étonnamment obtus quant à l'entreprise par menace vide [Do you really believe that I would be so amazingly obtuse as to venture an empty threat]?" she replied, that smug and self-satisfied look on her face spreading even further as she looked at him. "Ce n'est jamais une bonne chose pour sous-estimer votre adversaire, vous savez. Vous ne savez jamais que ce qui étonne un peu elles monteront avec! [_It is never a good thing to underestimate your opponent, you know. You never know what kind of surprises they will come up with_!]"

He shrank away from her, his eyes widening as he did so. He had not seen Alberta _this_ determined since 1995 and it _really _shook him. He tried _very_ hard not to show it outwardly but he was shaking inside and spooked, as well. This was _not _the Alberta he knew; _this _was a far _more _determined and supremely confident Alberta and he didn't know _how_ to take the change he saw in her.

Usually he ignored her-with the occasional snippy remark and catty comment or two in her direction-and she ignored him-again, with the occasional snippy remark and comment or two aimed at him-and they sort of rubbed along, trying not to overly excite the other and basically staying out of each others way. What he was seeing here in front of him _was_ different and something _far_ more frightening to him: A _very _dangerous Alberta who was getting in his face and making _no _secret of it.

What _had gotten into her?_ he wondered, licking his dry lips nervously as she stood there, looking at him with that curious and frightening expression. _I_ know t_hat she's bilingual but she rarely_ ever s_peaks French! And, yet, she's speaking it now! _His eyes narrowed again. _This is something _completely _different; it's like there's an entirely different person in her skin! _

Quebec wasn't sure that he _liked_ this "_new_" Alberta as she stood there, waiting for him to make a move or say something, he wasn't sure which. All things considered, he'd gladly take the old Alberta... and _happily _so!

"Puits [Well]?" she said at last when the long silence had become too much to bear, BC and Saskatchewan looking on in stunned silence. " Quelle est votre décision, cher frère? Vous nous aiderez? [What is your decision, dear brother? Will you help us?]"

If there was any other time that Quebec _knew _he had to stand firm, _this _was it. He didn't want _anything_ to do with Alberta's mad scheme for heaven knows what she had planned and refused to be intimidated by her, or so he thought, empty threats.

_Maybe not so empty_, he thought worriedly, beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead. _She seems so... _sure_... of herself and that is indeed something to watch out for. She's very rarely this supremely confident and it isn't like her to create open conflict and that is something that should be feared. She can be so mercurial..._

Still, he _had_ to show her that he wasn't afraid of her which was going to be interesting since it was so very obvious that he _was_ afraid of her!

_I'll bluff her; she wouldn't dare do anything to me and I think it's all a lot of hot air!_

He forced a smug expression on his face, crossing his arms over his chest in a defensive posture. From behind him, he heard BC groan and Saskatchewan blow out the breath he'd obviously been holding in.

"Non [No]."

_There! Let sister dear put _that _in her pipe and smoke it!_

The corners of Alberta's mouth twitched, her glittering eyes almost apologetic as she looked at him with something very close to pity. Out of the corner of his eyes, Quebec noticed that BC and Saskatchewan were also giving him pitying looks, shaking their heads sadly and wondered why they were doing so.

_Something's up. I just don't know _what!

"Je suis désolé d'entendre cela [I am sorry to hear that]," she said quietly, sighing loudly. "J'espérais que vous seriez raisonnable au sujet de ceci mais, puisque vous refusez, puis de moi ai peur que je doive jouer mon atout. [I was hoping that you would be reasonable about this but, since you refuse, then I am afraid that I must play my trump card.]"

"Ce qui… ? [What...?]" he began but stopped when he saw what Alberta had produced from her bathrobe pocket and held in front of her. Sparks of electricity jumped from one prong to the other in a wide arc, the hum emanating from it was almost deafening in the crypt-like silence in the nook.

"I truly am sorry," she said, switching back to English as she held the instrument underneath his nose. "I wish it could be different but, if you refuse to help, then there's nothing I can do except play the trump card as I said I would should you not prove amenable."

_It's a... cattle prod...! She wouldn't... use it, would she...?_

"You _wouldn't_ dare," he hissed venomously, his heavily accented English echoing throughout the deathly still room.

"Wouldn't I...?" Alberta returned sweetly.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Three hours later..._

_October 31st  
Breakfast Nook, Matthew's Residence  
11:30 A.M._

Quebec slowly came to, to find himself lying on the floor and looking up into the anxious faces of BC and Saskatchewan and the complacent face of Alberta, still holding that infernal instrument of bovine related torture. He groaned, slowly lifting his hand to press against his head, giving Alberta a dirty look. He had the most godawful headache and he had the feeling that he was going to feel like hell for a few hours more before _this _was over.

"I hate you... I really, really, _REALLY_ hate you, Alberta. Do you know that?" he asked bitterly, closing his eyes once more when the spinning of the room was too much to bear, feeling nauseous and queasy.

She nodded sagely, her expression not changing a whit.

"I warned you," she said simply. "You _should_ have believed me and you, of all people, should _know_ that I'm _always_ a person of my word."

"I'll keep that in mind," he groaned, sitting up stiffly with the help of BC and Saskatchewan who were supporting him on either side. "Since I don't appear to have a choice in the matter, I suppose that I'll have to go along with whatever mad scheme it is that you've concocted."

Alberta smiled. "That's the spirit, no pun intended!" she said with a giggle as he was finally able to stand, brushing himself off impatiently and giving her a dirty look. "Here's the plan: you all go to the Frank Slide site, wait a few moments until I give you the signal and then BC, as the woman in white, will 'appear' and walk around a little bit, throwing up her arms and generally looking like she's wailing; Saskatchewan will take care of the recorded screams and Manitoba will be in charge of getting this all on film."

"So what do I do?" Quebec asked testily, taking his cigarette pack out of his pocket, opening it, taking out a cigarette and lighting it, stuffing it into the left side of his mouth and taking a large drag, sending the ring of smoke in Alberta's direction.

Alberta winced as the ring of smoke hit her nose, the stench of burning nicotine and god-knows-what else burning her throat and coughing as she breathed it in.

_I suppose he needs to avenge himself somehow,_ she thought with slight chagrin as she saw the satisfied look on his face at her discomfort, _I just wish he wouldn't act like such an ass about it. I didn't want to cattle prod him but he asked for it._

"You'll be the one who will keep others out of the area until we're done," she said, "and make sure that any nosy person nosing about will be... _discouraged_... to poke around any further on the Slide." She gave him a mocking smile. "Think you can handle _that_?"

Quebec waved his hand, blowing out another ring of smoke that Alberta managed to dodge, rolling her eyes.

"Of course!" he retorted blithely. "Morceau de gâteau [Piece of cake]!"

"Good." Alberta turned to face her other siblings, standing on either side of Quebec. "Well, then; I think we have this down pat and all we need to do is wait until tonight to put our plan into effect."

"Do you think that Ontario will come along willingly?" BC asked.

Alberta grinned, shaking her head.

"Of course he _won't_," she replied, tossing her hair over her shoulder, "but _that's_ where his pride will be his downfall, as it were."

"Oh?" Saskatchewan chimed in, curiousity clear in his tone. "How do you figure that?"

"Simple," Alberta replied, her eyes shining. "What's the _one _thing that Ontario is infamous for, besides his arrogance and being a nuisance in general?"

"Pride," BC responded with disgust, a sour expression spreading over her face.

"Exactly." Alberta grinned, spreading out her hands. "So, we'll hit him _right_ where it hurts: we'll call him a chicken if he _doesn't_ agree to come out to the Frank Slide with me... _right_ in front of the other siblings."

"I get it!" BC commented, clapping her hands together and chortling. "That way, since he's shot off his mouth to pretty much everybody, he _can't_ refuse or else he'll look like a fool in front of everyone else!"

Saskatchewan chuckled, clapping Alberta on the shoulder.

"I love it! He _can't_ refuse or else everyone will _know_ what a phony he is, that he's full of hot air, to boot!" He grinned at Alberta, giving her a courtly bow. "Great idea, Sis! You have altogether too twisted a mind." He winked at her and she giggled. "Remind me _never _to get on _your _bad side!"

BC laughed while Alberta punched Saskatchewan playfully on the shoulder, Quebec looking on in tense silence. He _always_ felt left out when the Western Provinces got together but comforted himself with the thought that he would get even with his sister at some point and, when he did, he'd be the one to stand back and laugh at that stupid English speaker!

"Right!" Alberta said after the merriment had subsided. "Everything is ready to go and we have some hours before sunset so I suggest that we get what we need, take a trip up there to see where the best place on the Slide will be to set up this prank and where the best vantage point would be."

Her siblings nodded in agreement.

"What will you be doing?" Saskatchewan asked.

"I'll be hitting the books... the _ghost _books, to be exact. I have a couple of books on Alberta's Ghost Legends and I want to read up on the Frank Slide ghosts, particularly Monty Lewis. I'll also be taking a look at some old maps of Frank pre-1903 to get some idea of where the hotel stood in the town before it was buried."

"Good thinking," BC remarked with approval, Saskatchewan also nodding, "get as much information as you can to make this little prank of ours more believable! I like it!"

"So, then, we have the plan ready. The only thing left to do is to set a time when we can reasonably sneak away without anyone noticing, _especially _Ontario. Does anyone have any ideas in that area?"

BC thought a moment, her brow furrowing in concentration, her thumb and forefinger resting against her lips.

"How about two o'clock this afternoon? I know that the kids will be going trick or treating around four or so and I think that you, Alberta, will be going with them, right?"

Alberta nodded. "Yes, that's right. I'm taking the place of Manitoba this year since he's busy with 'other things,' such as helping us get our little prank off the ground!"

BC smiled. "You don't mind going out with the kids?"

Alberta shook her head. "Of course not. In fact, I enjoy it and the pocketfuls of candy I usually am able to collect while I'm out with them really sweeten the deal, as it were." She grinned wolfishly. "I keep telling the houses we stop at that I'm _not _their mother but their sister." She shrugged, a wide grin spreading over her face. "They never seem to believe me so I've stopped trying to convince them otherwise and just accept the candy when given!"

"A most delicious upside, I must say," BC quipped as Alberta and Saskatchewan chuckled heartily. "I should try it sometime!"

Alberta chuckled. "Couldn't hurt," she agreed, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. "They never listen to me when I tell them so I'm sure that it will be the same for you."

"I'll keep that in mind for next year."

"Anyway, sibs, I think we need to get going," Saskatchewan broke in, pushing his cowboy hat firmly onto his head, the girls nodding in agreement and even sullen Quebec had the grace to nod in the affirmative. "We have a _lot_ to do and not a whole lot of time to do it in. Let's say we congregate here at two o'clock, drive out to the Slide and, once we get an idea of the topography, we can make more firm plans as to where we'll set up camp. Is that acceptable to the two of you?"

BC and Alberta nodded in unison.

"Good. Then it's settled. See you here at two o'clock!"

"You bet!" Alberta returned enthusiastically, waving at her brother as he turned and left, closing the door leading to the breakfast nook quietly behind him, Quebec following silently in his wake.

BC looked at her sister.

"We should get going too," she said quietly, walking over to the sink and putting her milk mug in the sink, turning on the tap and filling it with hot water, "since we have a lot of our own things to do."

"Indeed," Alberta agreed, putting her coffee mug in the sink as well. "I'll be spending the next hour to so in the library. I'll be there doing research if you need me."

"Gotcha," BC replied, giving her sister the 'thumbs up' sign. Alberta laughed as she walked through the door, closing it quietly behind her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_October 31st  
Breakfast Nook, Matthew's Residence  
5 P.M._

Their two o'clock meeting had gone very well; the maps that Alberta had been able to find before and after the Slide had proven valuable to them on planning where to set up camp. Manitoba had eagerly joined them in their venture, as Alberta suspected he might, although silence overcame the group once they'd reached the Slide area.

Remembering what had happened here over one hundred years earlier put a sombre pall over their hereto effusive merriment and Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Manitoba had bowed their heads for a moment of silence in memory of those who had lost their lives in 1903.

They'd worked quickly, not wanting to stay out any longer than they had to and arouse suspicion in the meantime, especially Ontario's. Alberta was due back in an hour and a half to accompany P.E.I., New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to take Nunavut and Newfoundland out trick or treating and she didn't want to be late coming back.

They'd marked off their target area-where Alberta had read stories of Monty Lewis appearing to someone unfortunate enough to get caught on the Frank Slide after dark-and had walked quickly over to the area directly behind and slightly down from it; each of them felt uncomfortable walking on top of what was, in essence, a graveyard for those whose bodies were buried too deep to recover and those who were unknown. This knowledge was incentive enough for them to complete what setting up they needed to before exiting quickly with a whispered apology their good spirits returning once they had left the Slide site.

They chattered amiably as they drove home, the early afternoon sunshine muted somewhat as clouds swept in before the wind that had blown up while they had been at the Slide, discussing what other plans they had before their Halloween prank later on in the evening.

They'd arrived back home in plenty of time for both their presences not to have been missed and Alberta to have plenty of time to get ready to join the group taking Nunavut and Newfoundland trick or treating. Labrador had come, as well, dressed to the nines in his Halloween costume: he'd gone as a honey bee. He'd looked adorably cute and had received many milkbones and pets as his Halloween treats; he'd practically preened under the attention and both Alberta and P.E.I. Both thought they saw a little swagger in his step as they went from house to house, prompting both to spurious fits of the giggles as they continued trick or treating.

As usual, Alberta had her two pocketfuls of candy, deciding to share it with BC, Manitoba, Quebec-despite his continuing surliness-and Saskatchewan when she got home which she promptly proceeded to do, the three accepting with thanks and one muttered, surly "Thank you" from Quebec. Alberta didn't care, for once; her mind was swirling with thoughts of what she and the others were preparing to pull on Ontario.

As she has suspected, Ontario _hadn't_ wanted to go with her-and he had tried every excuse in the book to get out of it, in fact-but Alberta overcame all objections by five simple words: "Why not? Are you... _chicken_?" As she had also correctly suspected, his pride refused to allow her to question his bravery and he'd caved immediately, agreeing to go with her to the Frank Slide later that evening at around 10:30 P.M.

She'd spent the next few hours in a state of heightened excitement. Dad noticed, as he usually noticed everything, and asked her what she was so excited about. Alberta had smiled at him winningly,her eyes twinkling as she explained that she had plans for later on that night to go on an "adventure that will, hopefully, result in a _good_ Halloween scare!"

Dad had smiled, reaching out and ruffled her hair playfully, remarking, "'Tis the season," and told her not to be out too late and to have a good, safe time before he turned and walked into the living room. The rest of her siblings who weren't involved in the prank that they were about to pull on Ontario, had congregated before the TV set, five large bowls of popcorn scattered around the floor, a large stack of horror movies spread out on the rug.

They'd invited Alberta to come and join them but she turned them down, explaining that she had other plans but that she hoped that they would have fun and enjoy themselves, waving at them as she left the living room.

She'd walked to her room and flopped down on the bed, looking up at the cream-coloured spackle ceiling and humming a merry tune before reaching over the side of the bed and picking up the book she had been reading, "Ghost Stories of Alberta." She proceeded to lose herself in the ghostly legends and real-life encounters with the supernatural that had happened on her home turf as she read the chapter on "Ghosts of the Frank Slide" with relish...

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_October 31st  
Matthew's Residence, Driveway  
9:59 P.M._

"You ready?" Manitoba asked, looking at Alberta with affection as she busied herself putting a wool blanket or two into the cab of her pick-up truck.

"Yep!" she replied, leaning back and closing the door, dusting off her hands. "I've got the map with the area we've set things up at along with the pre-1903 map that shows where the town used to be before the Slide; I have a couple of blankets since it's going to be quite chilly out there on the mountain tonight; four flashlights just in case we may need more than one or some flare out; a first-aid kit in case someone might slip on the boulders and need some quick patching up; some bottles of bottled water just in case and a GPS locator in case we get lost." She tilted her head slightly to the right, amusement mirrored in her sibling's face. "Anything I missed?"

Manitoba chuckled, a low rich sound. "No," he said facetiously while she grinned, "I think you have everything you need." He reached over and gave her a big bear hug. "You be careful out there now, sister, and we'll see you in an hour or so, ok?"

Alberta nodded, returning the hug with affection before turning to greet Ontario, who had walked up to them, the usual sneer plastered on his face. He wasn't at all happy about having to come with her to the Slide, his attitude made _that _fact _very _clear, but was determined to stick it out rather than being exposed as being anything less than brave in front of his siblings.

Manitoba's lip curled as he greeted Ontario, who didn't even bother to respond, before he turned and left, giving Alberta a jaunty wave as he left. Once he had gone, Ontario turned and walked over to the passenger's side of her pick-up, practically yanking the door open and getting inside, slamming the door pointedly behind him.

Alberta sighed as she opened the driver's side, rolling her eyes when Ontario gave her a black look and proceeded to ignore her, preferring to look out of the window instead of looking at her. Alberta muttered some choice words under her breath but she forced herself to look cheerful, trying to keep her temper in check by thinking of what she and four others were about to pull on him... and how he would run like a scared girl.

She'd put on her seat belt, motioning to Ontario to buckle up as well which he did will ill-concealed grace; she sighed as she put the key into the ignition, turned it and grinning as it suddenly roared into life. She'd looked behind her as she put the truck into reverse, making sure that there wasn't anyone-or a dog or other kind of animal-behind her, turned the wheel sharply to the right, put it into drive and peeled away, kicking up a mini-shower of gravel as they drove into the night.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_October 31st  
Frank Slide Site  
10:59 P.M._

"How far do we have to walk over this place?" Ontario asked sulkily, watching Alberta slowly picking her way over the immense boulders that lay scattered over a wide area in an almost haphazard fashion. "I _can't _see where I'm going!"

"Then use your flashlight!" she snapped, fighting down the unbearable urge to strangle him, "and quit your damned carping!" They had only been walking for about fifteen to twenty minutes and he was already complaining. She'd done her level best to try to ignore him but it was becoming increasingly difficult to do as time passed and wondered if anyone would convict her if she simply pushed him off of the mountain.

It really _was _creepy up here at night and she could feel it in her bones as she slowly made her way over the dotted landscape, catching herself looking over her shoulder every now and then to make sure that she hadn't lost Ontario-although, she admitted, it would be a heck of lot more enjoyable if he'd stop crabbing every few steps-and that she was going in the right direction.

One could _very _easily lose their bearings here and Alberta checked, and double-checked, the map that she held in one with the flashlight in the other to make sure that they were on the right path that she, BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and surly Quebec had mapped out nearly eight hours earlier.

"We're a mile or two away," she replied tersely as he managed to trip over a half-buried boulder and cursed nonstop for ten minutes afterward. "We'll be there in a bit so stop complaining. It won't kill you to walk a mile or two although _I _might if I hear _one _more peep or complaint out of you before we get to our destination!"

Ontario glared at her but he doubted that she could see him in the nearly pitch-blackness that surrounded them as they continued their slow journey over what was once Frank, Alberta until a landslide had snuffed out the lives of seventy to ninety people in the space of one hundred seconds.

Alberta hummed softly to herself as they continued their trek, mile after slow mile until, at last, they'd reached the area where Monty Lewis was said to walk, wailing out her anger at being so cruelly murdered.

She muttered something uncharitable under her breath as her brother opened his mouth once again to carp and complain but she urged herself to patience as she dropped her backpack on the ground, unzipping it and taking out two thick wool blankets, a plastic sheet for them to sit on which she proceeded to lay on the ground.

She whistled as she went about her various tasks, knowing that, shortly, she was about to get even with him for redirecting her cattle shipment to Vancouver and scare the bejeezus out of him at the same time, the thought of which brought a smile to her face and a smothered chortle.

She dug out a small crevice in the dirt that was in the middle of a boulder-ringed circle, putting down some twigs and leaves that she had collected before she left the house into the middle and striking a match, the burst of flame carving out a niche of light on the darkness. Ontario watched her work in silence, grabbing the wool blanket that she offered him and quickly wrapping it around himself, his teeth chattering.

"I don't know why I ever agreed to come to the Frank Slide with you," Ontario groused, giving her a black look as she stood up and walked over to sit down beside him on the plastic tarp and wrapping her own wool blanket about her shoulders. "I must have been mad to come out here!" He gestured wildly around him, his voice echoing in the silence. "There's nothing here except rocks, as far as the eye can see! What is it you're expecting to see out here—a will o'the wisp?"

Alberta turned to face him, her face an unreadable mask. She was keeping her temper with an effort since she didn't want to spoil the surprise once BC, Manitoba, Quebec and Saskatchewan arrived but, once again, she had the unbearable urge to kill him, if only to shut him up!

"You'll see," she replied with exaggerated patience, "and, if we're lucky, it will be something that I promise you will not forget!"

_And I won't forget it, either, because I get to see you run screaming back to the truck like a girl! Believe me, it _will _be_ worth _the wait just to see _that!

"I think it's just a wild goose chase, _whatever_ it is that you've got cooked up." He looked about him, shivering slightly. "God, it's creepy out here in the dark..."

_I'm _very _glad to hear you say so, brother dear, because this will be a Halloween night that _you _will not soon forget!_

"Really? I find it awe-inspiring, a tribute to Nature's power that man can neither contemplate nor duplicate..."

_And a little creepy but definitely the _good _kind of seasonal creepiness that I love on Halloween!_

Ontario looked at her, his mouth twisted into a sour grimace.

"You're _really _creepy, you know that, don't you?"

Alberta chuckled.

"So I'm told." She stretched out her legs toward the fire, sighing in delight as she did so. "All we need now is some marshmallows we could toast since we already have this lovely fire."

He gave her a look of pure disgust and set about pointedly ignoring her, turning his back on her and staring off into the darkness beyond the firelight. He shivered slightly, unable to shake the growing sense of unease that he felt increasingly over time. There _was _something not _quite_ right about all of this and, although he wasn't sure exactly _what _it was that _felt _that way, it _was_ abundantly clear that _something_ definitely _was._

Alberta looked at her watch for what seemed to be the umpteenth time in as many minutes, looking out into the darkness and biting her lip.

_Where are they?_ she wondered crossly, looking down at her watch again before looking beyond the ring of light that the fire gave off. _It's nearly 11:15; they should have been here ten minutes ago! _What's _keeping them?_

They sat in fretful silence for some time, each thinking their own separate thoughts when a flash of white out of the corner of Alberta's eye caught her attention and a slow, nasty smile started to spread over her face.

_At last,_ she thought with excitement as she saw Ontario's eyes open wide and his mouth drop open, _they're here! Let's see_ how _brave dear brother is once he sees what _we've _managed to come up with!_

"Alberta?" she heard Ontario whisper hoarsely and she grinned as she heard the tone of uncertainty creep into his voice.

"What?"

"Did... did you see... _something_?"

She shook her head. "See what?"

Ontario pointed with a shaking finger over to her right and, when she looked over she saw the faint outline of someone walking slowly over the boulders; judging by the slight build, Alberta thought that it looked like a woman in old fashioned dress.

She hid a smile. _BC's_ really _going all out! Way to go, Sis! Let's give dear brother a scare he_ won't _soon forget!_

"Well?" Ontario demanded, a slight note of hysteria creeping slowly into his voice. "Did you see it?"

Alberta sighed, shaking her head. "I have _no _idea what you're talking about, dear brother," she remarked, trying to keep the chortle she could feel threatening to burst from her bubble up to the surface and find expression. "I _don't _see anything except boulders and faint moonlight."

"How could you not see it? It's right over _there_!"

"Where?"

"**THERE**!" Ontario shouted, his voice cracking. "It's over **THERE**! How can you not see it? It's right over _there_, as plain as day!"

Alberta rolled her eyes.

"Where?" she asked reasonably, fishing out a bottle of bottled water that she had brought along with her, unscrewed the lid calmly and, bringing it to her mouth, took a large swig, swallowing it slowly.

_I'll have to play this up for all its worth or BC will _never _forgive me!_

She looked over to see her brother's _very_ white face staring out into the darkness, his frightened eyes fixed on a vantage point somewhere beyond the firelight, smothering a grin. She could see the white outline slowly becoming more solid and looking more human, walking in and around the boulders some feet away. They could see her hair streaming behind her in a white wave, her facial features twisted in anguish and sorrow, her hands clenching into fists and lifting them above her head as she looked upward.

Ontario's reaction was _everything_ she could have hoped for; from the look of horror that spread over his face, to the ghostly pale pallor that had replaced the usual robust colour of his skin, to the chattering teeth, to the shaky finger pointing at the woman in white, to the mewls of terror that were struggling to get through his clenched teeth.

_Wow! BC's REALLY going all out!_ Alberta thought happily, watching her brother slowly begin to melt down, gibbering in terror and trying not to let a smile cross her face since that would give up the prank in an instant. _What wonderful acting; she looks almost _real!

"M-m-m-mm-m..." Ontario gibbered, clutching the wool blanket close to his shaking body, his white, frightened face seemed to gleam in the pale moonlight that shone overhead. He swallowed hard and then tried again to speak although he was only able to get one letter out. "L-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l..."

_Better play this for all its worth since I doubt that I will get another chance! This is so much fun!_

"Yes, Ontario, what is it?" She looked at him, concern crossing her face, lifting an eyebrow. "Are you all right? You look _awfully _pale..."

"G-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g..." he stuttered, stabbing the air savagely with his shaking finger, repeatedly pointing in the direction of where BC, in her guise as the woman in white, walked, wringing her hands. "Gh-gh-o-gh-gho-g-o..."

"What was that?" she asked, trying to keep a laugh from bubbling past her lips once again which she managed, with great difficulty, to suppress. "I _didn't_ hear you."

"Gh-gh-gh-gh-gh-gh-gh-gh-..." Ontario managed to spit out a second letter; Alberta was amazed that he could get out any sound at all past his tightly clenched teeth, the skin of his face drawn so tightly over his skull that he looked like a maniacal death's head.

_Wow, he really_ is _terrified! I've never seen him_ this _scared since I went to pick him up in Athabasca! I really _do _hope that Manitoba's getting this on film! This is just_ too _perfect for the rest of our sibs to miss!_

As Alberta looked on with fascination and Ontario looked on with increasing hysteria, the woman lifted her head, a loud, sorrowful moan breaking the silence on the Slide. Alberta felt a chill run down her spine and wondered exactly _where_ Manitoba had managed to get such a realistic cry from.

_Holy cattle, that's _one _creepy sound! I'll have to ask Manitoba from what Halloween soundtrack he got this particular cry from. God, it's creepy... and wonderfully so!_

With a thin scream, Ontario turned to her, his face drawn and white, shaking from head to foot. It was a wonder that he didn't faint on the spot since it looked like he was about to do just that any minute now.

"What's the matter? Why are you so scared, Ontario?" She looked about the boulders, deliberately missing the spot where she knew very well BC was walking. "I _don't _see anything...!" She shielded her eyes with her hand as she looked around. "There's _nothing _here except us and the rocks!"

"Y-y-y-you m-m-m-ean t-th-th-tha-that y-y-ou can't s-see i-i-it?" His pale skin and haunted eyes seemed to gleam in the ring of firelight that was in front of them and he looked about one more wail away from a complete and total breakdown.

Alberta sighed. "See what?" she retorted impatiently, waving her hands in the air. "There's _nothing _here to _see_!"

At that moment, a bloodcurdling scream broke the silence of the night, Ontario yelping in fright and clutching Alberta's arm in a vise-like grip while she winced noticeably.

_Ow. Got to hand it to BC and the others, though; they've _really _stepped up the game far beyond what I could have reasonably expected! I have to remember to thank them for doing such an amazing job once this is over!_

"D-d-d-d-d-d-did y-y-y-y-you h-he-hea...?" Ontario chattered, his eyes wide with terror and shaking so badly that he couldn't get the rest of the sentence out.

_Time to draw this fish in! Believe me, it _will _be a pleasure!_

Alberta narrowed her eyes, letting concern slip into her tone in order to heighten Ontario's obvious terror to new levels.

"I...I... _thought _I heard something," she said quietly, her eyes widening a little as she slowly looked around, biting her bottom lip thoughtfully. "I.. I'm not exactly sure what it was though it did sound like..." She broke off.

Ontario wailed, clutching her even more tightly until she had to _literally_ pry his fingers from her arm.

"Ow! Damn it, Ontario, let go!" she ordered brusquely, throwing his hand away from her once she'd pried his fingers loose and he immediately grabbed her blanket, his head twisting wildly around as the sounds of the cried became louder over time. "Be quiet and listen! There's _got _to be some rational explanation as to what we're hearing; after all, there's no one here but you and me!"

"W-wh-wh-wha-wha-what...?" he simpered, closing his eyes as if to block out the solid looking woman who seemed to be making her way over the boulders to where they were situated.

"I don't know," Alberta admitted, turning her head slightly so he couldn't see the smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth, letting more and more concern slip into her tone, "but there has to be _some_ reasonable explanation as to what we're seeing and hearing. There _has_ to be!"

She was playing it to the hilt and it was working wonderfully since Ontario looked like he was either about to faint or bolt any moment. She was ecstatic that her sibs were playing their different rôles to exquisite perfection; this went _far_ beyond what she could have hoped for! Again, she mentally reminded herself to thank BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and even Quebec for all their help on such a wonderful prank.

The heartbreaking wails continued to grow louder as the minutes passed, Ontario's terror increasing to such a state that she felt it was time to end the charade and bring matters to a head; after all, she had enjoyed very much scaring the wits out of Ontario and now felt it was time to bring the prank to an end.

She'd attained her goal and, certain that Manitoba had gotten it all on film by now, she whipped her head around, her eyes widening... and then screamed as the woman in white stalked slowly toward them, her shrill screams echoing throughout the Slide.

Ontario moaned, looking to where her shaking finger pointed...

"Look!" Alberta shouted, her eyes wide with horror as she saw what was slowly coming toward them. Ontario did, seeing the woman in white was only seven feet away from them, wringing her hands, tearing at her hair as she seemingly hovered a few inches above the rocks, her feet not touching the ground... and screaming for all she was worth.

With a shrill yell and finding strength inside himself that Alberta never knew he possessed, Ontario jumped up, flinging the blanket away from him and taking to his heels. He raced down the trail the way they had come, screaming hysterically with every step until it was hard to tell exactly which of the two whose screams could be heard, the woman in white's or Ontario's.

He had gotten ten feet away when Alberta lost any restraint she'd had and burst into laughter, doubling over as she saw him zigzagging through the downed boulders.

_Oh, my God!_ she thought, holding her sides as she laughed. _This is just _perfect_! BC, for your amazingly real performance as Monty Lewis, I salute you!_

She was so immersed in her mirth that she didn't hear the scrabbling footsteps that were coming toward her nor the voices that were anxiously chattering for some time; when she had at last become aware of them, she straightened up to see BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec hurrying toward her, apologetic and anxious looks on their faces.

Alberta clapped her hands when she saw them coming and hurried over to meet them.

"That was **GREAT**, you guys!" she gushed enthusiastically, "I don't know where you got that **WONDERFUL** Halloween soundtrack, Saskatchewan but it was **AMAZING; **those recorded screams sound _absolutely_ genuine! BC, you _really_ outdid yourself as the woman in white! Manitoba, I hope that you got all of this because this is just _too _funny!"

She continued on in this vein for some time, her eyebrow furrowing in perplexed puzzlement when she saw the uneasy glances that passed between the four of them before they looked at the ground.

"What's the matter?" she asked, genuinely perplexed at the odd looks that passed between them. "You guys _really_ outdid yourselves in this prank but, I must confess, that I'm puzzled as to _why _you all look so weird. We just pulled _the _Halloween prank of the century on Ontario but you all look like you're on death row! It doesn't make _any_ sense!"

They were silent for some time before BC finally spoke.

"We're sorry that we're late," BC began, her fingers twisting together, "but we got stuck in traffic for over an hour. We just arrived here now." She looked uncomfortable and her three brothers' expressions mirrored their sister's. "I don't know what it was that you think we _did_ but... we _didn't_ do it."

Alberta's face turned a shade paler when she heard this. She could dimly make out Ontario's shrill screams that were still tumbling over one another from somewhere down the trail but... _who's _screams were answering his?

"_What._..?" she whispered in disbelief, looking at the slowly advancing woman in white with widened eyes, her siblings' eyes doing the same. "You mean that... _that_... you all ... _just _arrived here? Just... _now,_ you mean?"

Manitoba nodded, his uneasy gaze now resting on the woman in white who was now just three feet away from where the five of them stood.

"We're really sorry, Alberta," Saskatchewan apologized, his eyes drawn to the slowly advancing apparition, Quebec muttering something in French, casting furtive glances over his shoulder with BC echoing his movement. "We _didn't _plan on this happening. It … just _did_." He took off his hat and twisted it in nervous fingers, his eyes drawn to the woman who was inexorably approaching them.

Alberta swallowed hard, her eyes flickering nervously over to the woman who was picking her way over the boulders two feet from where they were standing, on the outer edge of the firelight.

"If _you _didn't do it," she whispered fearfully, her eyes darting around her before looking at her nervous siblings, licking her dry lips, "then... _who... _is _that_?" She pointed at the woman who was now a foot away and closing the distance between them at a rapid pace.

As if in answer to Alberta's question, the apparition turned toward them; she was so close that they could clearly make out her facial features, twisted in agonizing sorrow; the delicate swell of her figure and breasts that the flowing, white diaphanous robes and plunging neckline showed off to an extraordinary degree, the delicate kid boots that she wore crunching over the gravelly surface though they all noticed, with horror, that her feet _didn't _touch the ground.

"Oh, my God..." Alberta whispered, her hand trembling as her siblings took one step back and froze, seemingly rooted to the spot as they watched the apparition of Monty Lewis as she made her way toward them, step by careful step. "This..._this_... _isn't_ a _trick_... _this _is _real_! This... is... _she_... _is_... _Monty_... _Lewis_!"

Monty Lewis blinked, wringing her hands twice before she threw her head back, opening her mouth and screaming, shrill, piercing cries that shattered the silence and sending chills up and down the spines of the five people standing there, rooted to the spot in terror.

The series of piercing screams seemed to break the spell and, without a word, BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec all turned and ran, their screams adding to the ghost's and they tumbled pell-mell down the trail. Alberta stood there for a moment or two longer before she, too, broke and ran, practically flying down the mountain as she quickly caught up to her terrified siblings, Monty Lewis' screams following them as they raced away from there, and the Frank Slide, as fast as their feet would carry them.

They eventually caught up to the terrified Ontario and the six didn't stop running until they'd reached Alberta's pick-up truck and BC's Mazda RX-7, parked three feet away from where the trail they took began. Alberta's hands shook as she fished desperately for her keys, Ontario yelling at her to hurry up as Monty Lewis' screams pierced the air around them; after what seemed like an eternity, she finally found them, opened the door with shaking fingers and practically yanked the door open and leapt inside.

She leaned over to open the passenger's door to admit the _very _frightened Ontario. She didn't even wait to buckle up before she jammed the key in the ignition and twisted it, looking over her shoulder many times as the ghost continued to scream. When it at last roared into life, after what seemed like an eternity to the two very frightened people in the truck, she slammed it into drive and pushed the ignition pedal all the way to the floor, gravel shooting out behind her as the pick-up truck raced into the night, BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec following in BC's sports car, Monty Lewis' despairing screams following them into the darkness...

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_November 1st  
Breakfast Nook, Matthew's Residence  
Midnight  
All Saints Day_

Matthew looked up from his book curiously as he saw the five, followed by a _very_ contrite and white-lipped Ontario, return, a steaming mug of Prince of Wales tea close by his hand.

"Welcome back, kids!" he called out cheerily, smiling at BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec as each one stumbled in through the door. "How was your Halloween night? Did you have fun?" He was surprised when the only response he received were mumbled and barely legible greetings in return.

Puzzled, Matthew looked at them again, _really _looking at them this time, and became alarmed when he saw that they were all white as a sheet, trembling and scared, with eerily matching expressions of fear on all of their faces.

Matthew quickly put down his book, his brow creased in concern as he saw how scared they all were and rose, quickly walking over to them. He put his hands on Alberta's shoulders, putting a finger underneath her chin and gently lifting her head, her haunted greenish-blue eyes looking into his.

"Are you all right?" he asked her and she nodded, brushing him away with an impatient, shaking hand.

"I'm... all right, Dad, really," she replied, walking quickly over to the liquour cabinet and taking out a bottle of brandy, her siblings following her in a shaky line. "We... we just... had a... nasty shock, that's all."

"It must have been." Matthew's eyebrow lifted as he saw the other five each grab a snifter, Ontario bringing one over for his sister who quickly opened the bottle and poured each one half a glass which they all downed, in unison, in one large gulp.

"Are you sure that you're all right?" he asked as the six's lips puckered as the brandy burned within them, some colour at last returning to their pale, white faces. "You all look like you've seen a ghost!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Dawn  
November 1st  
The Frank Slide  
Frank, Alberta  
All Saints Day_

_The apparition watched the five as they stumbled down the Frank Slide, wailing her eternal grief and despair and wringing her hands as she stood there, looking down over the rocks that hid what was once her home._

_The fire that Alberta had built was still burning, the flames being tossed here and there by the biting wind and fanning the embers. For some time it burned until a wispy form began to take shape close by, twisting and writhing as it slowly came into being. _

_When at last it had solidified, a man in early twentieth century clothing stood by the camp fire, looking down at dispassionately for a few moments before he stretched out his hand, snuffing the fire out in an instant, plunging the Frank Slide once more into darkness._

_He smiled as he looked off into the distance for a few moments before he began to dissipate once more into a white mist, twisting like a wisp of smoke before that, too, vanished._

_All was quiet on the Frank Slide once again, the sleeping dead, entombed below, laying down their wispy heads and closing their dead eyes._

_And Monty Lewis, her screams of sorrow and despair echoing through the twenty-first century, faded into the silence of nearly forgotten history, the soft fingers of dawn slowly spreading over the boulders as the sun rose on All Saints Day._

_The dead slept._


End file.
